Airplanes
by Pika-Thunder
Summary: Rima's life is a disaster. Her parents' fighting is getting worse. She is pretty much depressed. She even cries herself to sleep. What happens when Rima turns to Easter for help and gets caught up with them? Based on the song Airplanes by B.O.B.
1. Broken Heart

**Yay a new Fanfic! I like to have my author's notes at the end usually, but I just need to tell you guys my inspiration. This story is based upon the song Airplanes by B.O.B featuring Hayley Williams. So, on with the story!**

"_Can we pretend that airplanes in the night sky are like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now…"_

One wish was all Mashiro Rima ever wanted. One wish to escape everything, teleport to another world. To leave, all of her past behind her. What she truly wanted was to fix her parents' relationship. She wanted her mom and dad to be happily married and to stop fighting. She wanted a perfect family again, just the three of them. Laughing, playing, doing things as a family. Rima has wished this on too many things, she's wasted almost ten dollars amount throwing coins into fountains. The embryo, an egg said to grant a person's dream… Rima has devoted herself to finding and catching that egg.

"Go to hell!" Her mother screeched. "Just die and go away! It's all of your fault that the accident happened!"

"Excuse me? It's under _your_ name!" Her father yelled back.

"So? You left the car just sitting there!" Rima didn't want to listen to them anymore. She raised the volume on her music, hoping that would help. However, her parents were too loud, and Rima sighed in defeat, shutting her music off. What happened was some teenager smashed the window of their car. Though it's really not anyone's fault except for the teen that had smashed their car, Rima's parents immediately blamed each other. Rima hated hearing them fight. Every time they fought, which was everyday now, Rima couldn't help but to cry. It all started when she was kidnapped, one year ago.

Rima was walking home from her school, in a good mood. She enjoyed going to school because she was the class clown once and she made everyone laugh. Everyone loved her and she was a part of them. So, with a smile on her face, Rima was walking home. Her chara, the part of her she wanted to be like, Kusu-Kusu, giggled with Rima, and they were both extremely happy. Rima was walking, in the dump area of her city. She passed two men near a truck, all dirty, fitting the atmosphere. At that moment, she didn't realize that those men were watching her. However, it would be these men who would change her life, for the worse. Rima continued walking, when she tripped on a piece of garbage. She fell to the ground, about to stand up, when one of the men held his hand out to help her up. Rima had felt slightly uncomfortable, since the guy was all messy looking, but she only figured he was helping her, so she took his hand, and tried to thank him. However, he grabbed her, and tied her up, blindfolding her. She felt herself being tossed into somewhere, and suddenly, the ground moving. She was terrified and scared for her life.

"HELP!" She tried to scream, but her mouth, like the rest of her, was petrified in fear. Instead she whispered the name of her chara.

"I'm here Rima." Kusu-Kusu had reassured. Rima couldn't speak, just shivered in fear. She couldn't see anything, just the blindfold, and she started to cry. All she wanted was to be in her mother's arms. She wanted to be safe at home again. Suddenly, Rima heard police sirens, and she felt someone move her, and then rip off the blind-fold.

"Am I safe?" Rima whispered, seeing a police man.

"Don't worry dear, you're safe now." The police man answered. Rima, then, saw her parents run over to her. Tears exploded out of her eyes, as she fell into her mother's arms. The rest of that day for Rima was foggy. That day was the day that marked the beginning of her parents' arguing.

"Rima!" Rima looked up, shivering as she did when she was captured, as she relived those dark memories.

"What is it, Kusu-Kusu?" Rima asked her clown chara. Unlike in the olden days, Rima's voice had no character in it and simply had depression in it. Especially in the last few weeks, Rima had turned more into a zombie.

"Funny face, look!" Kusu-Kusu stretched the sides of her mouth, sticking out her tongue. Rima forced a sad smile at her chara, pleasing her. Rima doesn't really find that funny face funny anymore, but it made her chara happy, so she did it to please her. The sound of her parents yelling quickly made that smile disappear. It vanished as quickly as a leopard could run.

"Why is my life barely standing?" Rima whispered. Tears fell down her face, her doll face no longer.

"What do you mean? Rima, just because your parents don't get along doesn't mean your life is completely terrible! There's so many great things in your life; the guardians, comedy…" Kusu-Kusu tried to reassure.

"The guardians is only a temporary escape. They don't help at all." Rima whispered.

"Do you know how much Nagihiko tried to cheer you up?"

"Don't talk about that bastard!" Rima yelled, crying even harder. "He is only there to sadden me even more! He is stupid and I wish he'd just vanish like all of the other problems in my life!" She rolled up into a ball, and didn't look up.

"Rima, but…" Kusu-Kusu gave up, and watched her owner cry even more. After an hour of crying, Rima lifted her head, and decided to go on a walk. Since her parents were still fighting, Rima opened her window, and climbed out slowly and cautiously. Before she turned off the lights, she closed the door and shut off the lights so it looked like she was sleeping. Rima crept around the city at nighttime, and thought about everything in her life. She decided to go to the park. Upon her walk to the park, she passed the building of Easter, the company that the guardians were against. They created X-Eggs, eggs of lost dreams, like Rima's…

"Rima, what are you doing?" Kusu-Kusu wondered.

"Does it matter now? What would happen now, if I simply just joined Easter?" Rima thought aloud.

"Rima, you can't! Do you know what Easter does? They turn children's heart's eggs into X-Eggs! It's horrible! Rima, you have a good heart, I know you!" Kusu-Kusu reminded her. Rima didn't answer, just stared at the building. Was she ready to betray all of her friends? Her friends would never forgive her, Nagihiko… Rima hated thinking about him. Nagihiko was another problem of Rima's. He always was there, especially when she didn't want him, and tried to cheer her up. She wanted him to go away and disappear from her life as well. However, it wasn't that simple for her to rid of him. Rima had realized she was in love with him. She didn't want to be and she tried so hard to fall out of love with him, but she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried.

"Rima… maybe you should get back home…" Kusu-Kusu warned.

"No…not yet." Rima answered, walking away from the Easter building. Nagihiko… what a pain that kid truly was. Rima arrived at the park. The park was actually closed, and closed two hours ago, but Rima always came anyway. Of course, it was impossible to let go of all of her problems, but she could always forget them for a moment. She was at the park again, sitting on the bench as she usually did. There was no yelling of her parents, except for in her brain of course. She could think about what life would be like if her parents loved each other again. She would be a much nicer person and maybe even live a nice life with Nagihiko. It all sounded so nice… if only they could stop fighting.

Rima suddenly heard quiet and sad music. It was a sound from a violin. Rima looked up, and heard the melody of the beautiful music from nearby. She slowly followed the music, and saw a familiar figure with blue hair and a black t-shirt. He wore black pants and his eyes were closed, engulfed in his own music. For a moment, Rima could see how Amu was attracted to him. The beautiful melody of Ikuto's violin… it was so sad yet beautiful, much like how Rima felt; broken and distant… Rima watched him from afar, a true smile forming on her face. Kusu-Kusu was super happy that Rima was finally smiling.

"Ikuto, someone's watching ~nya." The cat chara, Yoru said. Ikuto's eyes opened, as he looked around, putting his violin. Rima quickly hid behind a tree. Ikuto did not notice her, as he put the violin case on his back, and scurried away as quick as a wild cat. Rima was shocked that someone could go away that quickly.

"Let's go… Kusu-Kusu." Rima told her clown chara. Kusu-Kusu nodded, following Rima out of the park, and back to her house. Rima climbed the side of her house, nearly falling. Rima grabbed the side of the window, and fell into her room. Rima closed the window, and climbed into bed. She paused for a minute, listening to the pure darkness of the night. Her parents weren't arguing so Rima looked out the window for a moment. She saw a star, shooting through the sky. She immediately recognized it as a shooting star, so she made a wish that her parents could get along. When the shooting star was out of view, Rima rested on her bed.

"Good-night Kusu-Kusu, good dreams." Rima whispered.

"Night Rima! Sleep well!" Kusu-Kusu said, disappearing into her egg. For the first time in three days, Rima fell into a quiet sleep.

"That was the Queen wasn't it?" Ikuto whispered to Yoru.

"I think so ~nya, do you have any plans?" Yoru asked.

"She seemed awfully depressed, I wonder if we could use her to our advantage…" Ikuto thought for a minute. "As much as it pains me, I think I have a plan…"

**I hoped you enjoyed! Rate and Review, I think this came out really sad. Don't worry there will be RimaHiko moments later, they're my favorite couple.**


	2. Secret Love?

**Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated, I've been REALLY busy. Please enjoy chapter two of Airplanes.**

A loud beeping kept repeatedly going off. It was endless, as if it could never end. Irritating and unavoidable, half-awake Rima was getting very pissed.

"Shut…UP!" Rima snapped, slamming her hand down on her alarm. When it stopped, Rima opened her eyes, and blinked a few times. Sense finally got knocked into Rima's head, as she got up, and got dressed. She slowly went downstairs, and saw her mother cleaning. Her mother looked in a terrible mood. Rima didn't want to speak to her. She grabbed toast, as quick as Ikuto left yesterday, and without toasting it, she spread jelly onto it. She stuffed it in her mouth, and exited her house.

"Rima, today is the history test!" Kusu-Kusu reminded.

"Oh yeah…" Rima whispered, no emotion in her voice. Rima had forgotten completely, and didn't even care. The stress at home was too much for her. However, since Rima isn't an awful student, she did okay on tests and quizzes and didn't do badly.

"Rima… why don't we see the Brothers of Comedy, they're performing today! I'm sure there are tickets available." Kusu-Kusu suggested. Normally, Rima, even with her selfish personality, always got excited for the Brothers of Comedy.

"Why? They're lame…" Rima muttered.

"Rima! You love them!" Kusu-Kusu moaned. Rima shrugged, and Kusu-Kusu sighed. Kusu-Kusu still wasn't sure why she hadn't disappeared.

"Hey, Rima, is it?" Rima stopped, and turned, facing Ikuto. Why was he here?

"What do you want? Go talk to Amu, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you." Rima muttered, continuing to walk.

"You doing anything tonight?" He asked, in a flirty voice. Rima remembered how Amu complained about Ikuto being perverted, so she just ignored it.

"I'm doing nothing with you." She answered.

"C'mon, at least give me a shot. I can help you escape all your problems." Ikuto suggested. Rima hesitated for a minute.

"W-What problems would I have?" Rima wondered. Kusu-Kusu looked at her sadly.

"I don't know… You're alone, correct? At least give me a thought. Meet me at the Imperial Diner at six o'clock." As quickly as he came, he was gone. Rima was frozen. Why would Ikuto just ask her out? Everyone knew he was madly in love with Amu! Her thoughts were immediately interrupted by a loud yell.

"RIMA-TAN, WAIT UP!" Yaya called. Rima stopped walking, as Yaya caught up to her, panting.

"Oh hello Yaya." Rima said, not really caring.

"Hey Rima-Tan! Yaya has a HUGE problem." Rima considered saying not as big as hers, but she didn't. "Tsubasa-Kun is getting ALL the attention, and Yaya's jealous!" Yaya moaned.

"It's not fair ~dechu." Pepe moaned.

"I'll help!" Kusu-Kusu offered. Rima didn't say anything.

"I'm busy tonight…apparently…" Rima said, muttering the last part. Yaya pouted, when the other three guardians joined them.

"Hello Rima-Chan, Yaya-Chan, how are you two?" Nagihiko asked. Rima didn't look at him, and intentionally avoided eye contact. She was going to say something rude, when Yaya interrupted.

"WE'RE GOOD, JUST PLANNING OUT OUR PLAN AGAINST TSUBASA!" Yaya explained. Amu, Tadase, and Nagihiko sweat dropped.

"Hello Rima, how are you?" Amu asked Rima, facing her. Rima looked at Amu, wanting to say how she truly felt; terrible, bad.

"Fine." Rima answered, but her voice did not back that up. Rima sensed Nagihiko's eyes on her, and she could only assume that there were pity in his eyes. She refused to look at him or make eye contact with him though. All of the guardians knew that something was terribly wrong with Rima's life, but since Rima wouldn't tell them, they had no idea what.

"Alright, there's something important I discovered last night." Tadase said. Rima wondered if it was the same time she snuck out of the house. "Let's go inside the Royal Garden to discuss. We have a lot of time before school begins." All of the guardians nodded, as they followed Tadase inside.

"Yaya wants candy…" Yaya moaned. Rima would have said something back to her, but she didn't now. She sat in her chair, staring at the table in boredom. Ugh…

"So, I was on an evening stroll, when I discovered a whole bunch of X-Eggs. Luckily, I was able to contact Amu-Chan, and we purified them, but there was just so many that we wondered how Easter could possibly make that many."

"There were at least thousands!" Amu said. "It was so tiring to purify…" She looked at Tadase, and they exchanged a smile. Rima watched them, and wondered if Amu would care too much if she went out with Ikuto… why was Rima actually considering this? And what would she do about Nagihiko. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and sighed. Why did she have to be in love with him? It's not like love ever comes true…

"They could have used machinery." Nagihiko suggested.

"That makes sense." Amu agreed.

"Yaya says we should destroy them!" Yaya said.

"Um, how will we do that Yuiki-San?" Tadase wondered. "We won't use explosives obviously, so what would we use." Yaya thought for a minute, and her eyes lit up.

"Kairi-Tan! He can use his ninja stuff and destroy the machines!" Everyone, even Rima, sweat dropped.

"Um, Yaya-Chan, I don't think that would work. And, isn't Kairi's character transformation into a samurai?" Nagihiko said.

"Oh whatever, they're the same thing!" Yaya moaned. Suddenly, the bell rang, and the guardians realized they were late to class. They all, with the exception of Rima, rushed to class. Rima took her time, not caring if she got detention or not. When Rima walked in five minutes late, Nikaidou sighed, and the boys who were in love with her, crowded her desk.

"WE LOVE YOU RIMA!" They exclaimed. "ERR, QUEEN RIMA!" They bowed. When Rima wasn't so depressed, she decided it would be funny if she told them to call her Queen and treat her like one. However, now that she was depressed, Rima simply ignored them, and opened up her notebook.

"Alright class, so that history test we were going to have, well, since I realized I haven't taught you everything, it's postponed!" The whole class erupted in cheers.

"Um, Nikaidou-Sensei? When will it be next?" Amu asked.

"Are you stupid, Hinamori? He'll just remember to schedule it!" Saaya yelled.

"Yamabuki-San, I wouldn't forget to reschedule it. Ah, Hinamori-San, I haven't decided yet, but good question!" The followers of Amu cheered, as she turned on her cool and spicy mode, and sighed dramatically. Tadase smiled at her. During class, Rima thought about how Nagihiko wasn't in their class. It was a miracle for her, since she'd be force to look at him and probably partner up (since Amu and Tadase would automatically) and he'd make her look bad.

After class ended, Rima followed Amu and Tadase out of the classroom. Amu and Tadase chatted about some movie they were going to see, while Rima trailed behind.

"Hey Rima-Chan." Rima didn't even need to turn to see Nagihiko. She would recognize him from anywhere. She didn't look up as Nagihiko walked next to her, and joined them.

"Hi Nagihiko, how was your class?" Amu asked.

"Good, not much happened." Nagihiko admitted. They all walked to the Royal Garden, and waited for Yaya.

"I wonder what's keeping Yuiki-San…" Tadase wondered. Amu and Tadase got into a conversation. Nagihiko turned to Rima.

"You're awfully quiet." Nagihiko pointed out. Rima nodded. "Hey, you can tell me if something's wrong. Don't feel afraid to…"

"There's nothing to say." Rima said. "I'm fine, how many times do I have to say that?" Nagihiko didn't come close to believing her, but he decided to let it go, as Yaya ran in.

"HEY EVERYONE, WHAT'S UP?" Yaya yelled, entering and sitting in her chair.

"We're good, Yuiki-San. How was your class?" Tadase asked.

"It was boring… School's boring." Yaya moaned. "Oh well, Sensei gave out candy!" Everyone, minus Rima, sweat dropped. They talked about the X-Egg situation, when it was five thirty. Rima suddenly became aware of the time.

"I, err, have to go! Um, bye…" Rima said, walking out.

"Where are you going?" Amu asked.

"Somewhere." Rima responded, leaving the Royal Garden. She thought about telling her parents she was going out but she figured they wouldn't notice her none the less. At six o'clock precisely, Rima arrived at the Imperial Diner.

"Why didn't you tell them about what you are doing?" Kusu-Kusu wondered.

"Amu has a huge crush on Ikuto. It doesn't really matter if I tell them anyway, I don't really care." Rima answered.

"So you came, I wasn't sure if you'd actually show up." Rima turned, but saw no one. She turned around, and saw the familiar midnight blue haired boy.

"I hope you didn't expect me to get all formal." Rima said.

"I don't give a crap honestly." Ikuto said. "C'mon…" Rima followed Ikuto into the diner. Ikuto got a table for two, and sat them down. The waiter handed them two menus. Rima took one, and started to read from it.

"Rima, you should get chicken!" Kusu-Kusu told her.

"Whatever." Rima said.

"Ikuto, get tuna ~nya!" Yoru told him.

"I'm not in the mood. So, I was thinking, Rima, would you like to get some spaghetti for two?" Ikuto said, in a sort of seductive voice. Rima raised her eyebrows.

"Um, no." Rima answered. "I'm happy with chicken." When the waiter came back to take their orders, Ikuto ordered tuna to please Yoru and Rima ordered chicken.

"So, let's do something after dinner." Ikuto said.

"I haven't gone home today, my parents would be worried." Rima said, mostly lying. "Therefore, I probably can't. You're lucky I joined you for dinner." Ikuto nodded, as they received their food. Rima began to eat her chicken. She watched Ikuto eat as well. He ate at a slow but good pace. Rima looked at his face for a moment. He was extremely good-looking. If Rima hadn't been in such a depression, she might've considered him; or was that why she _was_ considering him.

"How's your food." Ikuto wondered.

"It's fine." Rima answered. Ikuto seemed surprised that she didn't ask him about his food. After they both finished, Ikuto took out enough money to pay for the both of them.

"I can pay as well." Rima snapped.

"Yeah, but I'd prefer to." Ikuto said. Rima blushed slightly. After receiving the receipt, they left the restaurant.

"Alright, I'm going home, good bye-" Rima was cut off by an incoming X-Egg. Rima gasped, realizing she could not character transform in time and escape.

"Rima!" Ikuto exclaimed. He jumped in front of her, and blocked her from the attack with claws. Rima gasped at the speed at how he character transformed. How could he do that? Ikuto blocked her from the incoming X-Eggs coming straight for her. When they were done aiming for her, Ikuto jumped up, spinning around, and scratching the X-Eggs with his claws, breaking them. Rima watched in admiration, even though Ikuto broke kids' heart's eggs. Ikuto landed in front of her, hearing the final sounds of the X-Eggs breaking.

"That…was…" Rima started.

"Impressive, wasn't it?" Ikuto said, finishing her sentence. Rima nodded. She realized she had a lot more feelings for Ikuto than she ever knew. Was she really that desperate? She ran towards him, and hugged him.

"Thanks…" Rima said, a true smile on her face. Kusu-Kusu watched in utter shock.

"Hey, I'd do anything for you." Ikuto kissed her so lightly on the lips. Rima took it in, kissing him back. She didn't care about anything, the age difference, the fact that her best friend was in love with him. She even forgot all of her worries, especially Nagihiko. When they broke apart, Rima breathed heavily, in shock. What made her do that?

"W-W-Wha-?" Rima exclaimed.

"See you tomorrow." And just like that Ikuto was gone. Rima blinked at thin air a few times. What just happened?

"Rima, you should head back." Kusu-Kusu suggested. Rima nodded slowly, walking back to her house. She snuck through the window, and wasn't surprised that her parents didn't notice her gone. She heard loud yelling, and quickly, her happiness melted. She curled up on her bed, and allowed the normal tears to come down. However, she did think of Ikuto. What had happened?

"Good night Rima-Chan! Sweet dreams…" Kusu-Kusu said, disappearing into her egg. Rima nodded slowly, curling under her blankets. Rima heard her phone vibrate quietly under the sound of her parents' yelling. Rima checked her phone, and saw it was from Nagihiko. Sighing, she ignored the text, and turned off her phone. Rima climbed back into bed, and had a sleepless night.

"Ikuto, you really are good at convincing!" Yoru said. "I mean, for a minute, even I couldn't tell you weren't in love ~nya." Ikuto walked around the city at late night. Since he wore a hoodie, he wore his hood up.

"Whatever." Ikuto responded.

"Is something wrong ~nya?" Yoru wondered.

"You know what's wrong." Ikuto said. Yoru looked at his owner, seeing the sadness.

"Don't worry, the plan will be over soon ~nya!" Yoru reassured.

"Not until the plan is completely in motion." Ikuto said. "I shouldn't have thought of it. I needed a way to gain the director's trust though…" Ikuto looked at the full moon. "Don't worry Amu, you'll be mine soon. I promise…"

**That's where I will end! Rate and Review please, that's the best joy you can give an author .**


	3. First Kiss

**Sorry I've taken a while! I sadly have too many stories to deal with… However, I will make this story one of my top priorities to update. I own nothing, except for the plot. **

"Why did I ever marry you? Life would've been so much easier without you! I hate you! I wish you would just die!" Rima ate breakfast, letting herself be ignored in the corner.

"Well, when you die, you'll go to hell!" Rima hated this. Why did she have to put up with this? Why her, and why not anyone else?

"Rima…" Kusu-Kusu began.

"I'm going to school." Rima whispered. She was already late to the guardian meeting, not that it mattered. Rima grabbed her bag, put it over her shoulder, and walked out the door. Rima walked to school, sighing.

"Rima, today's going to be fun! I mean…" Kusu-Kusu began.

"Nothing's fun about life anymore Kusu-Kusu." Rima muttered. "Life is meant to suck and be messed up. There's nothing to do to help." Kusu-Kusu opened her mouth to speak, but they arrived at the Royal Garden. Rima walked in, and sat in her chair.

"Hey Rima-Chan! Where were you?" Amu asked, cheerfully. Rima looked at Amu. Amu's cheerfulness annoyed Rima.

"Where do you think? I wouldn't just run off somewhere!" Rima snapped angrily. Rima didn't feel like being bugged.

"Is everything alright, Mashiro-San?" Tadase asked. Rima gave him an angry look, shutting him up. Rima felt Nagihiko's eyes on her, but once again, she ignored him. There was a sudden silence.

"Yaya's bored, can we get ice cream?" Yaya moaned.

"Uh Yaya-Chan, we're about to start a meeting." Nagihiko told her. "Maybe after school?"

"YAY! NAGI-TAN'S THE BEST!" Yaya yelled.

"I beg to differ…" Rima thought, but didn't say out loud. Suddenly, the outside door opened, and they heard footsteps. Everyone faced the front, and saw a familiar midnight-blue haired boy. Rima's eyes sparkled.

"Hey…" Ikuto whispered. Tadase's eyes narrowed, and Amu blushed.

"I-Ikuto, what do you want?" Amu moaned, ready for his usual flirting. Ikuto faced her.

"Sorry Amu, I have no interest in you. You see, I'm currently dating someone else." Amu's eyes widened.

"Who?" Amu exclaimed.

"She happens to be in this room." Ikuto said. All eyes went on Rima, no one thinking it was Yaya. "That's right; I'm going out with Mashiro Rima." Everyone froze. Rima looked up, curious at everyone's expression. Amu was shocked, nearly passing out. She also had a slight sadness in her eyes, loss of Ikuto. Yaya, too, was surprised. Tadase's eyes were widened, but he had the tiniest of a smile on his face. Rima was curious about Nagihiko's expression, but she didn't want to look at him. Dating Ikuto was so perfect, completely blowing Nagihiko out of her mind.

"Ikuto… why are you going out with Rima? Is there a reason that persuaded you to doing this?" Amu asked.

"The only reason that I went out with her was because I love her." Ikuto answered. Rima blushed, a small smile creeping on her face.

"But…"

"Amu, don't be so self conceited. I can't stay attached to you. Sorry, have fun with Tadase." Ikuto said. Amu opened her mouth to speak.

"H-How long have you two been dating…?" Nagihiko asked.

"None of your business… I don't want you to have anything to do with my relationship!" Rima exclaimed. "You've helped screwed up my life enough. Don't screw up my relationship…"

"Rima, your life isn't…" Nagihiko started, but stopped, realizing Rima wasn't listening.

"Isn't anyone happy for me? Everyone is all excited when Amu first announced she was going out with Tadase, but why not me and Ikuto?" Rima wondered. No one said a word.

"…It's nice actually. I'm happy for you Mashiro-San." Tadase said. Ikuto smirked at Tadase. He took Rima's hand.

"Rima, meet me at the park after school." Ikuto said. "I want to show you some things." Rima nodded.

"Wait Rima, we have the guardian meeting!" Amu exclaimed. Rima faced Amu.

"I'd prefer to hang out with Ikuto." Rima said bluntly. Everyone's mouth fell open, with the obvious exception of Ikuto.

"I'm excited to see you there, Rima. Have fun at school." Ikuto kissed her, and quickly left. Rima watched him leave, a blush on her cheeks.

"The school bell's going to ring!" Yaya exclaimed, breaking the silence. Everyone stood up, and left for the school.

"Hey Amu-Chan, wait up…" Amu quickly turned, as Nagihiko caught up to her.

"Nagi, why did she go out with him?" Amu exclaimed, making sure everyone was ahead of them.

"I don't know…" Nagihiko admitted. "I don't like this couple. I just can't see Rima-Chan going with someone so… mysterious and unpredictable like Ikuto. He could harm her at anytime." Amu shook her head.

"Ikuto wouldn't harm someone he loves. I know Ikuto… but why would he choose her?" Amu wondered.

"Amu-Chan… be perfectly honest. Does a part of you still want Ikuto?" Nagihiko asked. Amu's heart stopped. The question that had been on her mind ever since she went out with Tadase…

"I…don't know." Amu admitted. Nagihiko nodded. "I understand why Rima wants to go out with him. She thinks she is so desperate that she can't survive without someone."

"Why Ikuto though? She could've just as easily gone with… anyone else…" Nagihiko said, some anger rising to his voice. Amu looked at him, surprised. "Of the guardians, I feel I don't understand her. Everyone trusts the other guardians, but I feel she doesn't trust us. I don't understand why she hasn't told us anything about what's bothering her! Especially me… she hasn't looked at me for weeks; ever since…" Amu looked at Nagihiko, waiting for him to finish his sentence.

"What happened Nagi?" Amu asked, worried. Suddenly, the bell rang, and they both dashed for their separate classes.

Rima watched Amu dash into the class. Amu had apologized to Nikaidou, and took her seat beside Rima. Normally, Rima would've asked her why she was late, but she chose not to.

"Rima, look, Nikaidou-Sensei just fell!" Kusu-Kusu exclaimed, as the whole class burst into laughter.

"Whatever…" Rima responded, not caring in the slightest.

"Ah… Sorry about that! Well, anyway…" Class continued for a while. After a few hours, class ended, and everyone left the school. Rima immediately retreated to the park, excited to see Ikuto. Rima felt someone's eyes on her, and she looked to see Amu watching her. They both looked at each other for a moment. Amu had sadness in her eyes.

"Don't watch us Amu. I leave you and Tadase privacy, so me and Ikuto are no different! Just back off, okay?" Rima said, turning around.

"Rima…" Amu started, but Rima had already walked away. Kusu-Kusu looked at her owner sadly.

"Rima, maybe you should've gone to the guardian meeting. You could've told Ikuto you'd meet him later!" Kusu-Kusu said.

"Who cares anyway? The guardians are stupid." Rima muttered. Kusu-Kusu's eyes widened, as Rima continued walking.

"I'm surprised I'm not disappearing…" Kusu-Kusu muttered. "Anyway Rima, I'm going to go to the guardian meeting, see you later!" Kusu-Kusu floated off.

"Have fun…" Rima murmured, continuing to walk to the park. Arriving at the park, Rima sat on the bench.

"Yo." Rima turned quickly, seeing Ikuto waiting for her in the tree above. Ikuto slid down the tree, landing on the bench beside her.

"Hey Ikuto…" Rima said, smiling. Ikuto put his arm around her shoulders. Rima rested on his chest. They stayed like that for a while.

"Hey, I want to show you something. I think you'll enjoy it." Ikuto picked up Rima, much to her surprise, and carried her across trees. Rima watched the scenery, her eyes sparkling.

"It's nice." Rima exclaimed, though that was an understatement. They arrived in front of a tall building. Rima watched it; why did it look so familiar?

"Hey Rima, was my kiss with you your first kiss?" Ikuto asked. Rima looked at him. "I was just curious, because it was mine."

"What about Amu?" Rima exclaimed.

"We never kissed on the lips… well, answer my question, Rima." A smile crossed his lips. Rima looked away. She wished she could say yes. Those three letters were on her tongue.

"Well… y-y-y… no… It wasn't, as a matter-of-fact…" Rima whispered. Ikuto seemed surprised.

"Who did you kiss?" Ikuto asked. Rima looked at the ground, and decided to tell Ikuto what happened.

**Flashback**

Rima never could have imagined her life would turn upside-down. She was a negative person, but no one thought much of it.

"Don't be stupid. I would _never_ even touch him, or go out with him, never mind kissing him!" Rima exclaimed, blushing.

"Uh Rima, you probably _would_ go out with him if you're blushing…" Amu had said. Rima glared at her.

"I'm not blushing! I'm simply sunburned…"

"It's April…" Amu reminded. Rima couldn't think of a comeback.

"Rima, it's a dare! You have to kiss him…" Yaya said, smirking. "Hey look, he's coming now!"

"If I were even to kiss him, it wouldn't be in front of anyone!" Rima said. The other two guardians walked in.

"Hello girls!" Tadase greeted. Amu blushed, and Rima and Yaya said hi.

"What happened? You three look like you're planning something…" Nagihiko wondered. Rima held her breath.

"Oh no Nagi-Tan… Yaya-Tan and Amu-Chi have nothing to do with anything! Come on Tada-Chi, Amu-Chi, you, and Yaya-Tan are going for a walk!" Yaya dragged both of their arms, and dragged them out.

"What just happened?" Nagihiko asked, facing Rima.

"Please leave now." Rima said.

"Uh, Rima-Chan… Are you okay?" Nagihiko asked. Rima nodded.

"Yeah…" Rima faked a smile.

"Do you realize that smile just made me think you definitely aren't alright? What little game did you play with Amu-Chan and Yaya-Chan?"

"N-Nothing… we just uh, uh, uh…" Rima started. "I have to use the bathroom, please excuse me!" Rima tripped off her chair.

"Rima, if you are being polite to me, there is something up..." Nagihiko stood up, and bent over, sticking his arm out. Rima looked at him, the opportunity so perfect. Wait a minute, since when did Rima actually listen to a dare? However, this dare was different, and Rima almost wanted to do it. Rima was ready. Breathing hard, she grabbed his hand, and stood up, kissing him. They broke apart. Rima blushed madly, and nearly started crying out of shock and surprise of her doing that.

"That never happened!" Rima yelled. Nagihiko, whose face was red and his eyes were widened, nodded slowly.

"B-But why…" Suddenly, the guardians walked in, and everything was back to normal, when the next day was when Rima's parents got worse. Amu and Yaya had kept thinking it never happened. Nagihiko still doesn't know why Rima kissed him.

**End of Flashback**

Rima only left out the part of her wanting to kiss him. She wanted to forget she had any feelings for him. She hoped that all of her feelings for him were gone.

"That doesn't really count though. It was just a truth or dare. You kissed me because you wanted to…" Rima nodded, knowing she was lying.

"Well anyway, I wanted to show you around this building." Ikuto led Rima into the building.

"What is it anyway?" Rima asked, holding Ikuto's hand.

"This is the building I work in." Ikuto said. Rima saw many people walking around. Suddenly, she saw some people who looked familiar. She happened to pass those three guys who always antagonize the guardians from… Easter?

"Um… be honest Ikuto. Are we in the Easter building?" Rima asked.

"Yeah… but Easter has changed, don't worry…" Ikuto said.

"No, it's okay. I don't really care. If you're going to recruit me, I'd be happy to join anything that you have…" Rima said. Ikuto smiled, kissing her.

"So that's your new girlfriend that's going to help us?" Ikuto and Rima turned and saw the Easter Director.

"Yeah. She can character transform so I know she'll be useful. I mean, I also love her of course…" Rima hugged him.

"Alright…" The Director exchanged a glance with Ikuto that Rima didn't understand. "So, I need you mix your powers to help create X-Egg. Ikuto will tell you the details." Ikuto nodded, leading Rima outside.

"You don't have to agree…" Ikuto whispered.

"I do though! I'll do anything for you!" Rima smiled, hugging him. Ikuto instructed her how to use the X-Egg energy to create X-Eggs.

"Wait, where's your chara?" Ikuto asked.

"Oh yeah, she went to the guardian meeting…" Rima remembered. "How can I help?"

"You can use Yoru…" Ikuto said. Yoru perked his head up.

"Nya? Oh, I'm going to character transform with Rima?" Yoru asked Ikuto. He put his hands behind his back.

"Exactly. Yoru, get to work right away!" Ikuto instructed. He looked to Rima, who smiled.

"I haven't character transformed in a while, even with Kusu-Kusu… My own heart, unlock!" Yoru went inside it's egg, coming inside of Rima. Rima fully transformed into Midnight Leopard. Rima was surprised, never before character transforming with a chara other than her own. She used the X-Egg energy to create X-Eggs. Thousands of X-Eggs floated out, surrounding the field. Rima knew that all of the guardians, if they found out, would never forgive her. Rima knew that tomorrow, she had to quit the guardians. Once ten thousand X-Eggs were made, Rima ended the transformation, panting.

"I should go… Good-bye Ikuto!" Rima kissed his cheek, and walked to her house. She heard the guardians immediately rush to fight the X-Eggs. Little did they know who did it…

Rima arrived at her house, with Kusu-Kusu waiting.

"Hey Rima! Where were you?" Kusu-Kusu asked.

"With Ikuto." Rima answered dully. She changed into pajamas, and fell to sleep.

**A hell of a lot more dramatic then intended! RATE AND REVIEW PLEASE! I NEEEED IT! **


	4. A Puppet Held by Strings

**It's been a while since I updated this story. Okay, I own nothing except for this story. I don't own any characters. This story is about to take an even more dramatic turn! Alright, let's begin!**

"Wake up; I need to talk to you. It's important!" Rima expected her mother to be standing beside her bed. She smiled, and tried to reach for her mom's hand. However, it seemed to move quickly away from her.

"I'm up mom." Rima said, yawning.

"Mom?" The voice exclaimed. Rima opened her eyes, and gasped at who it was; not her mom.

"W-What are you doing here? How do you know where I live?" Rima exclaimed, jumping backward.

"Calm down, Rima. I found out from Amu where you lived."

"Shouldn't you be rehearsing for your performance?" Rima wondered. The person, Utau, sighed.

"I'm not having a performance for another month. Well, I need to tell you something important. Stay away from my brother." Rima blinked.

"Um, why?" Rima wondered, not caring too much. No matter what, Rima was pretty determined to stay with Ikuto.

"He doesn't want a relationship with you. He's using you, Rima." Utau said. "Don't trust him."

"Look, I don't really understand your 'feelings' for Ikuto, but you can't have him." Rima said. "He's mine, and I won't let go of him!"

"For one thing, I don't have feelings for him. Ever since I started dating Kukai, I've matured about that. Anyway, I'm serious; he will break your heart."

"Why does everyone hate us together?" Rima yelled, not even afraid her parents will hear. "He's the only thing that brings bliss to my life!" Kusu-Kusu floated up, clearly hurt. Rima didn't even notice her chara.

"Alright, suit yourself. But, when he betrays you, don't come back crying to me." Utau opened Rima's window, and hopped out, just as her brother would do. Rima got changed, and ate a very quick breakfast. Not to her surprise, her parents didn't hear a word Rima said to Utau. Her parents were arguing loudly. Rima felt a tear come from her eyes. She grabbed a piece of toast, not toasting it, and left without a word. She arrived in front of the Royal Garden. That's right, she was going to quit. She knew she had to, if she was going to help Easter and Ikuto. It was best for everyone.

"Rima-Tan!" Yaya exclaimed, seeing Rima outside. Rima, not uttering a smile, walked inside the Royal Garden. She took off her guardian cape.

"Let's make this quick; I'm quitting the guardians." Rima said. She threw the cape at Tadase. "Have fun without me." She began to walk out of the Royal Garden. She stopped midway out of the Royal Garden.

"I hope it's better for you, Fujisaki; no one to annoy you." On that last note, she left the Royal Garden, leaving the guardians speechless. Rima almost wanted to run back home, completely leave school. Instead, she went to the Planetarium. Rima didn't even try to find it on purpose. She was just walking to nowhere, and it just came up. Rima decided to walk inside, and sit down.

"I see you are lost in your path, aren't you?" Rima knew it was Tsubasa talking. She simply grunted, ignoring him. "Though everything may seem foggy, and it may seem to get even foggier and it may blind you completely, a fog always clears up. Remember that." Tsubasa stood up, and left the planetarium. Rima stared at the ground, thinking about what he said. "_A fog always clears up…_" Well, if Rima was in a fog, it was sure never to clear up. Rima shrugged off what Tsubasa said, and decided to head for class. She left the planetarium, and arrived in class.

"Mashiro, you're late." Nikaidou said. Rima said nothing, taking her seat. Who really cared anymore? Rima felt Amu's eyes on her, but she ignored her, taking out her textbook.

"Rima." Amu whispered. Rima ignored her. "Rima, please, come on!" Rima continued to read what Nikaidou instructed them to read. "RIMA!" Amu hissed louder.

"Is there a problem, Hinamori-San?" Nikaidou wondered. Amu looked up, and blushed.

"T-There's no problem Nikaidou-Sensei… sorry…" She whispered, embarrassed. Some students stared at her, astonished, for not acting cool & spicy.

"Alright, is everyone done reading the chapter?" Nikaidou asked. The class nodded. Rima wasn't done, but she didn't say anything. So, the class reviewed the chapter and began to study for the test which was tomorrow.

Class was over. Rima left the classroom, making sure she was faster than Amu and Tadase. Ahead of her, she happened to notice Nagihiko. She immediately turned away, and intentionally walked the other direction. She hoped he didn't notice her.

"Hey." Rima looked up to see Ikuto sitting on a tree.

"Hi." Rima greeted, a small smile coming to her face. Ikuto hopped down from the tree, and hugged her. "How come you aren't wearing that guardian cape?" A shadow crossed her face.

"I quit the guardians." Rima admitted. "There was no point. I don't even care about them." Ikuto smirked.

"Interesting…" Ikuto said. He picked her up, much to Rima's surprise. "Come on, let's go to Easter." Rima nodded, letting Ikuto take her to the Easter Building.

"Wait, what about Easter?" Kusu-Kusu exclaimed.

"That's right, I'm helping Easter now." Rima said. Kusu-Kusu's eyes widened.

"How could you do that, Rima? I know you aren't a guardian anymore, but you can't!"

"Who says I can't?" Rima said. Kusu-Kusu didn't say anything. "You aren't the boss of me, Kusu-Kusu. If you still want to help those guardians out, go ahead. Tell them I'm helping Easter, see if I care." Kusu-Kusu didn't move, and looked close to tears. "Go on."

"I'm worried about you…" Kusu-Kusu whispered. "Be careful Rima-Chan…" Kusu-Kusu was gone.

"Borrow Yoru again." Ikuto said. Rima nodded, performing a character transformation. "M-My own heart, unlock!" Rima said, transforming into Midnight Leopard. As she did yesterday, she created X-Eggs with X-Energy. She wondered how long it would take for the guardians to come. How would they get purified? Which character transformation would Amu use? Would she purify it with Tadase? Would Utau help purify them? Rima only knew that Nagihiko and her would not purify the X-Eggs, obviously, for many reasons. She remembered that day when they both transformed, and purified those X-Eggs together. That was the beginning of when Rima had feelings for Nagihiko. If only that day never happened…

With the Guardians

"W-What?" Amu exclaimed. Everyone in the Royal Garden shared the same expression, shock. Though each had their own variations of shock, with some anger involved or betrayal or broken heart; but everyone was pretty much shocked.

"I wish I could say it's a joke, but it's not…" Kusu-Kusu said. "I think she started yesterday, but I'm not completely sure…" No one said anything.

"Amu, I can sense X-Eggs…" Miki said to Amu.

"How does she make X-Eggs without Kusu-Kusu?" Amu wondered.

"She must be transformed with Yoru." Tadase said. Yaya was beginning to cry. Kukai, who was originally just visiting, comforted her. "…We should go. Is everyone ready?" No one said anything, but the reluctantly was the same universally. All five of them stood up, and headed outside to find the X-Eggs and very possibly Rima.

Rima

Rima felt powerful for once. She could feel thousands and ten thousands of X-Eggs floated around her. Her eyes were closed, feeling engulfed in this dark power. Hearing loud footsteps coming her way, she opened her eyes. The guardians were facing her, along with Kusu-Kusu floated above Amu. So they came, and they knew everything. Well, not even close to _everything_…

"What have you done?" Amu said. Rima didn't answer. She didn't want to fight her, or any of the guardians. "Rima, please…" Again, no response. "You're leaving us no choice but to fight you. We won't go easy just because you were a former guardian; a former friend." Those words stung. _Former friend_… Is that what Amu truly thought of her as?

"I accept that." Rima whispered, calmly. Tears formed in Amu's eyes, as she began to character transform into Amulet Heart. The others did as well.

"Spiral Rod!" Amu yelled, throwing her Heart Rod in a spiral motion. Rima simply caught the rod. It turned black from the X-Energy Rima was using. Rima shook it, and more X-Eggs were created.

"We can't worry about Mashiro-San… purify the X-Eggs!" Tadase called. Rima shook her new "magic wand" and created barriers to prevent the X-Eggs from purification. Ikuto stood to the side, watching Rima.

"This is going well." Rima heard someone whisper from behind her. She recognized it as the Easter boss, the one they tried so hard to defeat. The one who hurt Ikuto originally. Why didn't this anger Rima now? Perhaps it's because it was in the past? Amu and Tadase together used their technique to purify the X-Eggs, but it failed.

"Why won't the X-Eggs purify!" Amu exclaimed, slamming her foot down in frustration. She faced Rima. "Please Rima, you were my best friend!" Like that was even close to true.

"What do you want me to do?" Rima asked.

"Be a guardian, forget all of this! It's your last chance! Come join us…" Rima didn't budge nor hesitate. Tears fell down Amu's face. Tadase comforted her. Rima watched them. Weren't they going to try to stop her? She saw Yaya, crying really hard that Kukai had to hold her. That hurt Rima a little that Yaya was upset, but she ignored her feelings. She refused to look at Nagihiko. She turned her back to them, and created more X-Eggs.

"Ikuto!" Everyone turned, and saw Ikuto's little sister glide over in Seraphic Charm. Rima glared at her, remembering their conversation from earlier. "Nice to see you again, Rima." Utau muttered. She faced Ikuto, not even addressing Kukai. "Ikuto, admit what you've been doing."

"Admit what? That I have been dating Rima, because everyone knows that." Ikuto said.

"You don't give a crap about Rima!" Utau said.

"Of course I care about her!" Ikuto yelled, angrily. He bit his lip. "She's everything to me."

"What's Amu?" Utau asked. Ikuto hesitated. Everyone gasped.

"She's…nothing." Ikuto whispered.

"That's a lie!" Utau hissed. "If she was nothing, you would've said it faster without hesitating!"

"I had to comprehend what you were saying." Ikuto said. Before Utau could speak, Ikuto interrupted. "Why are you here Utau? Is there an actual reason you are here?"

"I'm telling the truth." Utau said. "Remember when you stayed at Amu's house when you were hiding from Easter? You trusted Amu, even more than your own sister! I'm sure you wouldn't do the same with Rima, would you?"

"Of course I would!" Ikuto said. Amu was blushing madly, and seemed to be wondering how Utau knew about that…

"You once told me that you would never bring Amu involved with Easter because it was dangerous. Look what you are doing to Rima…"

"I never said… The circumstances were… It… I…" Ikuto knew he lost. Rima thought about this. It's true, working for Easter was dangerous, and Ikuto did manipulate her… Realization was in Rima's eyes. She was manipulated! Ikuto used her! She was a puppet used by her depression. She wanted someone to hold on to that wouldn't give her pity; someone to escape with. She didn't even realize how careless she was being, until now. She was simply a toy of Ikuto's he possessed; just another string on his violin he could strum. Rima was nothing to him. Tears fell down Rima's face, as she knelt on the ground, crying. No one comforted her; who would?

"Ikuto, admit to her that you have been deceiving her." Utau said. Ikuto faced a crying Rima.

"Fine… I've been lying, and I simply used you as a slave for Easter." He turned back to Utau, a glare in his face. "Happy? What's your motive, Utau?"

"You know my motives." Utau said calmly. "Why don't you apologize for all of the stress you brought to Rima? Look at her! You single-handedly bombed her heart!"

"I refuse." Ikuto whispered coldly. He gave one last look at Rima, than faced Amu. Her eyes were shaking, and she just seemed shocked overall. "I'll come back for you, when the time's right." He muttered, as he left the scene. Yoru followed, ending the transformation. The Easter Director seemed to flee the scene. Rima continued to cry. Now with Ikuto out of her romance life, Rima had to suffer from remorse and anger for Ikuto. Of course, that brings back the major problem of Nagihiko, now that she's single. Also, there's no distraction from her parents. Rima was back to square one, really square negatives.

"Happy to know the truth?" Utau said to Rima. Rima looked up, her eyes still watery. Utau looked at her.

"…Why me?" Rima whispered, thought she knew the answer.

"You were vulnerable. He loved Amu too much to use her, and was Yaya ever going to fall for something serious?"

"Hey!" Yaya moaned. Kukai laughed slightly. Rima shot him a glare. Why would anyone laugh in her most distress? Kukai stopped laughing right away. Rima stood up, her legs shaking. She looked at the other guardians, whom were all watching her.

"Amu, I'm sorry…" Rima said quickly. She actually felt sincere. She felt terrible, and not just for that. She realized how mean and cruel she has been. "…For everything…"

"Rima…" Amu whispered.

"I know you can never forgive me completely. I understand, any of you… What I've done, can these X-Eggs actually be purified?" Rima said.

"You didn't know what you were getting into…" Tadase said. Tadase accepted her apology? "It's okay Mashiro-San." Rima smiled, the first sincere smile for a long time from someone not Ikuto. She hugged Tadase, surprising them both, but it was clearly just as friends.

"Forgive and forget, that's the assembly Yaya watched last week!" Everyone stared at Yaya. "So, that's what I'm doing with Rima-Tan! How could Yaya not forgive the person who is pretty much her sister?" Those words really meant a lot to Rima.

"Yaya…" Rima said, tears coming to her eyes. How could she be so loyal?

"I'm all for forgiving as well!" Kukai said, grinning. He put his thumbs up. Rima looked at the other two out of the corner of her eye. She never expected them to forgive her, especially Nagihiko. Nagihiko… Rima had been so mean to him… She never even _looked_ at him. So, she forced herself to look at him. Both of them shared a look at each other. His golden eyes stared into hers. He forced a sad smile at her. Even he could forgive her? Why were these people… so nice?

"Rima, why don't we pretend that this never happened?" Amu wondered. Rima looked at her, breaking her glance with Nagihiko.

"Amu… I'm afraid that will never happen…" Rima muttered. "I can't just forget what Ikuto did to me." She shook when she said his name.

"I understand." Amu said. "Rima, are you going to join again?" Rima's eyes widened.

"W-What…? I thought you said that my last chance was…?"

"The circumstances have changed, Mashiro-San." Tadase said. "We need you with us." Suppose Rima was lying about these feelings, and she was going to betray them. At this moment, she only wanted her friends.

"I shouldn't… I-It's best I don't…" Rima stammered.

"I know you're going through a lot, and with Ikuto bringing more problems, it's bound not to help, but that doesn't mean we don't want you." Nagihiko said. This night was probably the night of the most nicest things people have said to her.

"Alright." Rima said, taking the cape from Tadase, and putting it on. Everyone smiled. Suddenly, from the transformation with a chara other than her own, she collapsed to the ground, panting. "I'm okay…" She whispered, panting.

"It's from character transforming with Yoru, hm?" Amu said, kneeling beside her friend. "I've transformed with both of Utau's charas, it's awfully tiring." Rima nodded. Amu stood up, and stuck her and out. Rima took it, and she stood up. "Amu, what about the X-Eggs?" Rima wondered.

"That's right… Tadase-Kun, we should purify them." Tadase nodded, and together, they attempted to purify the X-Eggs. Again, it didn't work.

"What have I done…" whispered Rima.

"Anyone could've done it." Nagihiko reassured. He walked next to her. Rima was completely aware of his presence, her face reddening. She almost wanted to take his hand, but decided against it. Suddenly, something hit her.

"Kusu-Kusu, I'm so sorry!" Rima exclaimed. Kusu-Kusu floated over. "You've always tried to comfort me, and I just blew it off!"

"It's okay Rima!" Kusu-Kusu said. "I know what you were feeling." Rima hugged her little chara, and watched Amu and Tadase trying and trying to purify the X-Eggs.

"It's no use…" Amu muttered. Rima felt even more guilty. Everyone decided to head back to their own houses.

"See you guys tomorrow." Tadase said. Everyone went their own ways.

"Rima, hold up a minute." Rima turned at saw Utau. Rima waited for Utau to catch up.

"Sorry…" Rima whispered. "I should've believed you the whole time."

"Whatever." Utau said. "Just… don't push your thoughts about my brother. The director isn't afraid to do terrible things. He needed you for something. He'll apologize to you soon." She reassured. Rima nodded. Utau left after that. Rima headed to her house. She opened the door slowly, and saw her parents waiting by the door. Rima gulped.

"Where were you?" Her mother yelled.

"I-I was with some friends…" Rima said.

"Oh really? Well you can't see them anymore!" Her mother yelled.

"It's your fault! You should've kept better watch on her!"

"You are her father! You should be in charge!"

"You're the mother! You should take care of her and be in charge!"

"I'm sick of you!" Rima yelled, unintentionally. Both parents looked at her. "Why do you always do this? I've actually been leaving the house without you guys even _noticing_! I'm leaving and I'm going to sleep at my friend's house! Thanks for being the best parents in the world!" Rima stormed up to her room. She could hear her parents arguing again. Rima grabbed a suitcase, and packed everything she wanted; clothing, money, pillows, blankets, toys, and old pictures. She found one of her family. Tears came down her face, as she packed it. Another one of the guardians, Kukai and Kairi were there as well. Rima smiled, remembering when that was taken, and packed it.

"Rima, where are you going to go?" Kusu-Kusu wondered.

"…I don't know…" Rima admitted. She grabbed her stuffed luggage, and went downstairs with it. Rima exited her house, without her parents. "Good-bye…" Rima was crying again, as she began to walk. She passed the park and suddenly heard a voice singing. It sounded like…

"Can I have you autograph, Hoshina-San?" Fans yelled. Utau smiled, and saw Rima watching in the back.

"I have to go. I'll give you autographs at my concert in a month." The fans shrieked, as Utau walked to Rima. "What are you doing here? I thought you went home." Rima explained everything, and literally _everything_. "Well, I can see how happy you've been these past few weeks…" Rima nodded glumly, crying. "You can stay at Sanjou-San's place; she wouldn't mind."

"…Thanks…" Rima whispered. They walked beside each other, Rima dragging a suitcase that was as tall as her.

"So, you mentioned you had feelings for Fujisaki?" Utau wondered. Rima blushed, nodding. "Interesting… I thought you hated him?"

"I tried to at one point." Rima said. "However, I tried hard to, but I just couldn't…" Utau nodded. They arrived at the Sanjou house. It was really large, not quite as large as the Fujisaki Mansion, but large. Utau knocked on the door.

"Oh hello Utau!" Yukari greeted. She noticed Rima. "Why is she here?"

"Rima…needs a place to stay." Utau said. Yukari nodded.

"Come with me, Mashiro. I have an extra room you can stay in." Yukari led Rima and her large suitcase to a vacant room.

"Thank you…" Rima whispered. Yukari smiled, going to her room with Nikaidou. Rima remembered she had a test tomorrow. That was the least of her worries. Rima led her stuff down, and began to cry. About everything. Ikuto, her parents, Nagihiko… She didn't sleep that night, just simply cried and let everything set in.

**Wow, that was unintentionally depressing! Please rate and review, I really need it on, debatably, my best story! By the way, next chapter will be called Rima Recovery Plan. **


	5. Rima's Recovery Plan

**Next chapter time! I'm really happy that I got so many more reviews last time! I own nothing, except the plot. Enjoy!**

"Hey, aren't you going to eat your breakfast?" A voice whispered. Rima looked up quickly, and remembered everything. That's right, she was at the Sanjou's house. Yukari ate her breakfast, just some cereal with milk, and stuffed it down. Kairi and Utau ate their breakfasts at normal rates, and Nikaidou was looking at Rima, worriedly. Rima had explained to everyone there the whole situation about her parents. Only Utau knew the full truth…

"I'm not hungry…" Rima muttered, pushing her bowl away. Food really didn't seem appealing. As a matter of fact, nothing seemed too appealing to her. "I should go… thanks…" Rima stood up, grabbed her school bag, and stood up. All eyes were on her.

"I know you've been under pressure with your parents. Don't take the test today." Nikaidou said. Rima looked at him, a small smile spreading to her face.

"It's okay…" Rima said. "I can take it. I…didn't sleep last night, so I spent some time studying…" Rima didn't mention that she spent about twenty minutes studying. Nikaidou beamed.

"Wow, you're really good! If it were me, I would've skipped the test easily…" Yukari muttered. Nikaidou narrowed his eyes at his fiancée.

"Hey Mashiro-San, you need a ride? I mean, the school is close, but if you want me to drive…"

"No, I'm good." Rima interrupted, leaving the house. Rima walked to the school. With her guardian cape covering her shoulders, she arrived on the school grounds, and glanced at the Royal Garden. She noticed four figures inside. She noticed one seemed to be jumping up and down. Rima smirked, knowing exactly who it was.

"Rima…" Kusu-Kusu called. "Can we do bala-balance?" Rima looked at her chara with such intensity, Kusu-Kusu immediately backed away. Rima made her way to the Royal Garden, and opened the door.

"It's perfect! There are no flaws in the plan! C'mon Amu-Chi, pleeeease?" Yaya begged. No one seemed to notice Rima walk in.

"It does sound good… but I'm just not certain others will be happy with that idea… What do you say Tadase-Kun?" Amu asked, turning to Tadase.

"I could picture it… It's awfully romantic…"

"Well, it's a dance! It's supposed to be romantic!" Yaya moaned. "There can also be a kissing station!"

"A kissing station?" Everyone exclaimed. At this moment, Rima was extremely confused.

"Yeah, where you get… Rima-Tan, when did you get here?" Yaya said, shrieking. All heads turned to Rima.

"Just now…" Rima said, sitting down in her usual seat. "What's this with a dance?"

"We've been planning a dance before graduation for a while now." Tadase said.

"We…have?" Rima said slowly. She must have been really upset and not caring about anything to not even have noticed they were talking about a dance…

"Yaya thinks we should have the theme for the dance under stars and there should be a kissing station!" Yaya explained.

"Yaya… what is a kissing station?" Amu wondered.

"A kissing station is an area where you force people to kiss others!" Yaya explained. "To help people get together!"

"Like spin-the-bottle?" Nagihiko wondered.

"Uh no, because you don't spin a bottle." Yaya said.

"No… in spin-the-bottle, you spin the bottle, and whatever direction the two sides of the bottle faces, those two people have to kiss." Nagihiko explained. "It's normally a drinking game, but people use it for other purposes as well…"

"Why do you know that? Have _you_ ever played that?" Rima said, without thinking. Why did she say that?

"No, I just happened to hear that somewhere…" Nagihiko said.

"Well, the kissing station isn't spin-the-bottle! You simply yell to someone 'kiss me!' and they're expected to kiss you!" Yaya said. Everyone looked at Yaya. "For you guys who haven't kissed anyone before, you can come to the kissing station!" Yaya grinned at Tadase and Amu.

"Yuiki-San… we haven't kissed…" Tadase said slowly, blushing.

"Yay! So no one here has ever kissed anyone before!" Rima avoided any glances with Nagihiko. How wrong Yaya was… Rima did not mention that she has kissed two separate guys, one of which was in this room. The other one… Rima was suddenly in a bad mood.

"I'm not so sure of this 'kissing station' but the stars idea sounds great! I know, we can have a space theme!" Tadase said.

"That sounds great!" Amu exclaimed.

"That's definitely a good idea." Nagihiko agreed. Yaya grinned.

"Well, we should have a Candy Station if not a kissing station!" Yaya said.

"Okay, that works." Tadase said, just to please Yaya. Yaya beamed. "Yuiki-San, we'll consider the kissing station. It needs a few adjustments, but it could work. Now, about the music… Amu-Chan, what do you think?"

"The music…" Amu thought for a minute. The others began to talk about music preferences for the dance, and Rima put her head on her fist. Why was she so stupid? How come she was so easily deceived by Ikuto? Why was she such an idiot? Why had she been so mean to her friends? Some tears formed in her eyes. Tears? Oh no, not now…

"EARTH TO RIMA-TAN!" Yaya howled. Rima blinked, turning to Yaya.

"Huh?" Rima wondered, hoping no one noticed her tears.

"Yaya asked, who are you going to dance with?" Yaya asked, apparently again.

"Uh…" Rima thought for a minute. "No one. I'm not going to this dance. Sorry…" Rima bit her lip, hoping she wouldn't keep starting to cry.

"R-Rima-Tan, you have to come! It will be soooo much fun!" Yaya moaned. "You're a guardian!"

"Yeah, but, dances were never really my thing… I don't have athletic ability…" Rima whispered.

"Dancing doesn't have much to do with athletics." Nagihiko said. "It's more of a thing that you have to follow the rhythm and match the beat."

"Well, that comes from someone who is athletic…" Rima muttered.

"Besides… Even if you don't dance, it will still be fun to go." Nagihiko reassured. He seemed persistent, eager for her to go.

"Why do you want me to go so badly?" Rima wondered.

"Because the guardians are hosting it, and you're a guardian so you should go to support the guardians. Besides, it's the last school thing we'll be doing at Seiyo." Nagihiko said, slowly and calmly. Rima nodded slowly.

"Whatever. I'm not going to dance. I'm just going to go." Rima muttered. There was a silence for a moment.

"School's going to start soon." Tadase reminded. Everyone nodded, and headed for their classes. "We'll do more preparations for the dance after school." Everyone began to head for their classes. Rima was walking to class with Amu and Tadase.

"Amu-Chan, I have a quick question." Tadase asked. Amu turned to Tadase.

"What is it?" Amu asked. Rima trotted behind them, knowing it was something about love or romance; something Rima wished could escape her life.

"Would you…Would you like to come to the dance with me?" Tadase asked, in a kind way. All of Tadase's fangirls were watching the situation in awe and shock.

"O-Of course I will!" Amu took Tadase's hands. She looked at the fangirls watching. "Is there a problem?" Amu asked.

"Oh she's so cool and spicy!" The girls exclaimed, smiling. Amu narrowed her eyes, and the girls ran off.

"Why do they always do that…?" Amu wondered. "It's not like I'm important or 'cool'…"

"You are the Joker of the guardians; highly respected." Rima pointed out.

"I couldn't see why people wouldn't like you." Tadase whispered, blushing. Amu, too, blushed. Rima sighed, annoyed by their romance. It was simply nauseating and nothing else. They arrived at the classroom. Everyone took their seats, and Nikaidou handed out the tests. When he gave it to Rima, he gave her a sad smile. Rima took the test, not smiling back. She took out a pen, and began to take the test. Since Rima had studied slightly, it wasn't too hard. After about forty-five minutes, the test was over.

"I'll let you guys go early." Nikaidou said. Everyone left the class, taking out their cell phones and calling their parents.

"I guess we'll have to wait until the other two finish their classes." Tadase said. Amu and Rima nodded, as they left for the Royal Garden. Nagihiko joined ten minutes later, having taken the same test.

"I thought it was really easy!" Amu said. "I mean, it was everything Nikaidou-Sensei told us about!" Rima thought about telling them that Nikaidou had offered her to not take the test, but she decided against it. They didn't even know she was staying at his place…

"It was fairly simple." Tadase agreed.

"YAYA'S HERE!~" Yaya bellowed, entering the Royal Garden. She grinned, and took her seat. "Yay, can we discuss the kissing station?"

"Now we need to focus on Easter and those unpurifiable X-Eggs." Tadase reminded everyone; what Rima didn't want to be reminded of. All of the guilt from the previous day came back to her. It was all her fault, everything…

"Don't the X-Eggs have a barrier?" Nagihiko wondered. "If we can eliminate the barrier…"

"How do we do that?" Amu wondered. Everyone thought for a few minutes. Rima began to think it was hopeless, and it was all her. Everything… These X-Eggs, her parents', the guardians' problems… As she has been doing for many days, tears came to her eyes. Oh no, not here, not now…!

"I have to go to the bathroom!" Rima said quickly, standing up. All eyes turned to her, as she rushed out of the Royal Garden, and didn't go to the bathroom. Instead she sat down on a bench. She was crying a lot at that moment, and she couldn't stop her tears from falling. She covered her eyes, and tried to stop crying. She heard footsteps and someone sat beside her. She hoped it wasn't Nagihiko.

"Don't blame yourself for anything." Rima recognized the voice as Amu's. She wanted to tell Amu everything, and wondered what was holding her back. She had told Utau, though that time, it all just came out…

"Amu…" Rima moaned.

"Yaya too." Yaya pointed out. Rima looked up, through her watery eyes. A small smile spread to her face.

"Rima, we were thinking, we want to make you back to your old self. All of us miss the old you." Amu said. Rima looked at her. "We miss the Rima who loves comedy and has a personality."

"Yaya misses the times when Rima got annoyed by her!" Yaya added. Rima's eyes narrowed.

"So we, meaning me and Yaya, have decided to 'restore' you back to who you once were." Amu said. "I know this is the worst part, but you need to tell us what's been going on with you these past few weeks." Rima looked at both of them.

"Alright…" Rima agreed. Yaya and Amu grinned at each other. "Well, I suppose everything was divided into two parts, well with Ikuto, now three." Ikuto's name made her want to cry even more. "It all started two weeks ago, I suppose, when, you two as a matter of fact, did that truth or dare game with me."

"Oh yeah, you mean when we dared you to kiss Nagi-Tan?" Yaya remembered. Rima nodded, uncomfortably.

"Yup. As you might remember, I denied it right away, and refused." Rima said.

"Yeah, we tried to convince you that you liked him!" Amu remembered. Rima blushed a little.

"W-Well… after that… I-I actually did your stupid dare…" Rima said. Both Amu and Yaya's mouths dropped opened, shocked. "Yup, I kissed the cross-dresser…"

"Cross-dresser?" Amu wondered.

"N-Never mind…" Rima whispered, her face reddening. "Anyway, I refused to admit that I did that, so I told him to not tell anyone ever. I never told him why I… kissed him. I know it was more than a dare… Anyway, during the next few weeks, my parents' fighting got a lot worse, and took a spin for the worse. From this, the life in me was dropping lower and lower, until it got to where it was now. As you guys knew, I also had closed myself from everyone. I refused to let my emotions show; especially from Nagihiko. I was especially rude to him, ignoring every word he said to me and not even looking at him. Every night, I never usually slept and usually spent the night crying. However, I happened to sneak out one night very recently, and I heard a beautiful melody playing. That's when I first found Ikuto… He didn't notice me, I don't believe. However, the next day, he tried to flirt with me, and then he asked me out to the dinner. I ditched the guardian meeting that day, and I went to dinner with him. At first, I was bored out of my mind, but he had protected me from an X-Egg attacking me, which he had probably set up. After he saved me, I-I fell in love with him, and kissed him." Rima breathed for a minute. "Worst mistake I made…" She muttered under her breath. "Of course, both nights, when I left early, my parents never noticed, and they continued fighting amongst themselves. The next day, Ikuto told you guys about us… That's when I decided to make X-Eggs and help Ikuto. After that, I quit the guardians, and, well, you guys know the fight that day; yesterday. After I finally got some sense, I came home, to my furious parents, finally realizing I had left many times. They yelled at me, and continued to fight. I decided to leave my house, because they weren't even treating me as a daughter. I had grabbed a luggage, and stuffed important things into it. I walked out, and I had walked a little before I met up with Utau. I told her everything. She let me stay at her place with Sanjou-San, Kairi, and Nikaidou-Sensei, and I took one of the guest rooms. The rest, was today." Rima began to cry a little, and Amu hugged her friend.

"Wow…" Amu whispered. "I never realized…"

"Rima-Tan…" Yaya whispered.

"I should tell the others. It's only fair; they're guardians too after all and also my friends." Rima stood up, when Amu stopped her.

"You don't have to." Amu whispered. Rima looked at her. "I mean, you just explained everything to us; it must be tiring." Rima nodded.

"Thanks… for, well, being here for me." Rima whispered.

"Rima-Tan, we're your friends!" Yaya said. "We'd always be here for you!" She put her thumbs up, and grinned. Rima smiled softly. "We can even help you get Nagi-Tan if you want!" The smile on Rima's face disappeared and was replaced by a glare.

"Haven't you realized I don't want to be in love with him? I've tried so hard to get rid of him, but it just couldn't happen. I won't date him!" Rima snapped. "Sorry…"

"Nah, no problem!" Yaya said grinning. "You can still be together…"

"NO!" Rima snapped. Yaya looked scared. Amu sweat dropped. "Let's go back to the Royal Garden." Amu and Yaya nodded, and they entered the Royal Garden.

"She's just so… I don't know, different?" Nagihiko said, finishing some conversation with Tadase. He turned when he heard the girls enter.

"How much should I bet you were talking about me?" Rima grumbled.

"Nothing, because we weren't talking about you." Nagihiko said, smirking. Rima sat down, a little embarrassed. "We were talking about Sion."

"Who's Sion?" Rima wondered.

"Oh, that's Kukai's childhood friend, right? How do you know about her, Nagi?" Amu asked. Nagihiko's eyes seemed to widen.

"Um, Kukai's mentioned her to me before." Nagihiko said quickly. "Anyway, what took you three a while?"

"We were talking about R-…"

"…Ranges." Rima finished. "We were discussing oranges." Tadase and Nagihiko stared blankly at Rima. "About… how they're in season!"

"I won't intrude on whatever you were discussing, but you don't have to give such an obvious lie." Nagihiko said. "Besides, oranges aren't even in season." Rima glared at him. Little did he know, he was part of their discussion.

"Let's talk about the dance a little more." Tadase said, knowing that Rima would feel bad about the X-Eggs. "So, we decided on a space theme. Where are we going to hold it?" Everyone said nothing.

"Yaya has an idea!" Yaya said. All eyes were on her. "Remember that haunted mansion we went inside when Kairi-Kun was the Jack, and we found that lost chara?"

"That's a great idea Yuiki-San!" Tadase agreed. "However, we might not have permission to have our dance in someone else's property."

"A-A dance inside a haunted mansion?" Amu exclaimed. She looked horrified. "I-I'm not so sure that's a great idea…" Everyone was silent for a moment. Rima looked at the ground. She didn't feel like saying anything.

"Wait a minute, Kairi-Kun's here?" Yaya exclaimed.

"Where did that come from?" Tadase wondered.

"Yaya was just thinking about something Rima-Tan said…" Yaya looked excited. "YAY! Yaya can dance with Kairi-Kun! Since everyone else is taken…" Nagihiko looked a little insulted. "No offense Nagi-Tan, but you…OW!" Yaya moaned as Rima slammed her foot onto Yaya's.

"You alright Yaya?" Amu asked.

"Yeah, Yaya's okay…" Yaya said.

"Yo everyone!" Kukai jogged in.

"Wow, a little late much?" Nagihiko said, teasingly.

"Well, your school ended earlier than mine… Besides I had soccer practice. So, what's up?" Kukai asked, grinning. "Talking more about the X-Eggs that cannot be purified?" Rima looked away, guilt kicking in.

"No, we're actually discussing our dance." Tadase said.

"That sounds interesting, but aren't the X-Eggs a little more important?" Kukai wondered. "I mean, they aren't able to get purified right now! Shouldn't we…" Rima noticed Nagihiko nod over to Rima. Kukai didn't seem to get it.

"We can't…"

"It's okay." Rima said. "We should talk about it. I know it's my fault, and I won't get upset." Rima knew there was a very low chance that she was being honest. Kukai seemed to get it now; why the others were hesitant to talk about it with Rima around.

"So… I don't think we should refer to them as X-Eggs that cannot be purified. If we call them that, we're falling exactly where Easter wants us to; to give up." Tadase said. "They can be purified." He directed that at Rima. "What we have to do is figure out how. Anyone have any ideas?" No one said a word. Rima wished she could give an idea, since they were her fault after all. She knew that she had to purify them. How she was going to purify them… Rima was back on square one.

"Maybe it's Utau-Chi?" Yaya wondered. "You never know…"

"Maybe! I mean, she can purify many X-Eggs at a time and she's so perfect at it. Also, maybe like Hinamori and Tadase, Utau and I can do an awesome purify thing!" Everyone stared at Kukai blankly. That's when it hit Rima. She can do an "awesome purify thing" with Nagihiko, well more looking like Nadeshiko but still… It was perfect, absolutely perfect! Rima looked at Nagihiko with the corners of her eyes. Would she be willing to work with Nagihiko to do this?

"Yaya wants ice cream!" Yaya moaned.

"Well, since no one has a thought, why don't we call it a day, and head home?" Tadase suggested. Everyone nodded, and left the Royal Garden.

"Rima-Tan, want to get ice cream with Amu-Chi and Yaya?" Yaya wondered.

"N-No…" Rima said. "I don't want ice cream." Yaya looked astonished. Amu began to lead Yaya to the ice cream.

"H-How… A-Are you human?" Yaya exclaimed.

"No, or at least I haven't been one…" Rima muttered under her breath.

"Come on Yaya." Amu said, leading Yaya to get ice cream. She waved to Rima, who waved back. She saw Nagihiko walking the opposite direction. She realized that she had never been to his house. Amu had always told her how large his mansion was, and was telling her about one time she got lost. Rima never really cared, never had actually giving a crap about Nagihiko. He continued, oblivious to Rima's presence.

"Nagihiko." Rima called. He turned, and saw her, a look of surprise on his face. His surprise changed to smile, walking over to her.

"Hey Rima-Chan, what are you doing here? Isn't your house the other direction?" Nagihiko wondered.

"It is, but even if I was heading home now, I wouldn't head to my house." Rima said, knowing that Nagihiko would be extremely confused, which he was.

"Um okay…" Nagihiko said.

"Look, it's about those X-Eggs I created." Rima said. "I think we can purify them together." Nagihiko nodded.

"Possibly, but there's no guarantees." Nagihiko said.

"Well, it's worth a try! I mean when we did that transformation a few months ago and you were transformed with…"

"I remember." He said, in a way that was almost like he would never forget. "Alright, but under a condition." A condition? Rima didn't expect that, but she decided it wouldn't be a big deal. She figured he would only ask her to talk to him or treat him well or something. "You have to tell me what's been on your mind these past few weeks. About everything that's been bothering you; what you told Amu and Yaya." Rima froze. She wasn't expecting that at all.

"Are you an idiot? I'm not going to tell you!" Rima snapped.

"Alright, I guess I won't help you purify those X-Eggs." Nagihiko said, turning around. That idiot! He was manipulating her through her guilt! What if she just agreed but didn't really tell him?

"Wait." Rima called. He stopped walking. "I'll tell you…" Nagihiko seemed to expect that.

"Okay, go ahead." Rima blinked at him.

"Now? No, we're going to purify the X-Eggs first!" Rima snapped.

"Rima-Chan, I'm not stupid. If we wait until the X-Eggs, you're not really going to tell me." Nagihiko said.

"Well, isn't more important to help lost souls than just listen to a pathetic story?" Rima wondered.

"Well, I have a feeling that you're pretty much a lost soul." Nagihiko said. "I'm not just trying to pry. I want to help you." Rima knew he was right. Rima was a lost soul, and she didn't even get why Kusu-Kusu wasn't one of those X-Eggs.

"Damn it." Rima muttered. "It started when you… Actually, never mind." Nagihiko blinked.

"Never mind? Does that mean you're just going to-"

"Shut up!" Rima snapped. "It's not just about my parents! It's so much more! Do you realize… what…what… Do you freaking realize that _you_ caused half of my problems?" Tears came down her eyes, but she didn't even try to stop them. "I was…" Rima didn't feel like talking to him. What did she actually see in him? Why was she in love with him? "I hate you! Get out of my life, okay? _I hate you_!" Rima ran off, crying. Nagihiko was left staring in her direction, not completely sure what happened. She ran back to the Sanjou mansion. Tears came down her face. Rima tried to stop them, when the door opened. Rima looked up and saw Kairi.

"Queen… what happened?" Kairi asked.

"Nothing!" Rima snapped, running to her temporary room. She slammed the door. Rima flopped onto the bed. At this moment, it was not just sadness she felt, but anger as well. She hated Nagihiko so much, yet she loved him just the same. If he got up and left, Rima would be happy. Why can't Kairi be the jack? From all of that, Rima finally realized that the X-Eggs weren't purified. Nagihiko had made her feel even guiltier. Rima thought she was starting to become herself again, but then Nagihiko came and ruined her chances of that!

Amu and Yaya were licking their ice creams. Amu licked her favorite, vanilla, while Yaya had chocolate and vanilla swirl. Amu couldn't help thinking when she licked the vanilla, about Ikuto. It was his favorite as well. However, he broke, more like destroyed, Rima's heart, and therefore wasn't worth it. Yet, Amu found herself missing him. Oh no… She tried to think of Tadase, but she couldn't. Oh no… Oh no…

"Amu-Chi, is something wrong?" Yaya wondered, licking her ice cream. "You like as pale as the ice cream."

"I-It's nothing really…" Amu whispered. Suddenly, they heard someone crying, and rush by them. Immediately, Amu and Yaya recognized that face.

"RIMA!" They both exclaimed together. Why was she running and crying?

"Oh no, plan A of Rima's recovery is a failure!" Yaya moaned. Amu nodded.

"I wonder what's wrong…" Amu wondered. "What's plan B?" She asked Yaya.

"Yaya likes to call it: The _Rima Recovery Plan_!~" Yaya said grinning. Pepe floated beside her, her thumbs up. Amu sweat dropped. "Hey that's Nagi-Tan!" Yaya exclaimed, dashing towards him to catch up. Amu sighed, and followed Yaya.

"Hey Nagihiko!" Amu greeted.

"Hey…" Nagihiko greeted, but his voice seemed empty.

"What's wrong Nagi-Tan?" Yaya wondered.

"It's… I have a question." Nagihiko said. Amu and Yaya looked at him. "Have I… been doing anything to bother Rima-Chan these past few weeks?" Amu and Yaya looked at each other.

"No, why would you think that?" Amu asked.

"I was just curious… I should get going… see you two tomorrow." Nagihiko jogged off.

"That was odd…" Amu wondered. Her eyes suddenly lit up. Yaya looked at Amu, confused. "Was Nagihiko the reason Rima was crying?" She wondered.

"What? You're probably right Amu-Chi! Yaya wonders what happened… we should ask Rima-Tan tomorrow!" Yaya suggested.

"I'm not so sure how well that will turn out…" Amu whispered. "I mean, I think we shouldn't remind her." Yaya nodded. They walked to their houses.

"Bye-bye Amu-Chi!" Yaya said, waving. Amu waved back, smiling, and walked to her house with her four charas following.

**Wow, 15 pages on a word document? Anyway, I'm happy there was a RimaHiko moment in this chapter. I'll update soon, and the amount of reviews I receive will affect how soon I update! REVIEW! Press that little button, whether you're a member or not of . It doesn't take much effort. Just say a little message and press enter. :D Thanks! I feed on reviews! Also favorite; favorite me, favorite the story, read other stories, whatever! Thanks for reading and I'll update ASAP :D.**


	6. Nagi Drama

**Yay, next chapter! In my last chapter, a reviewer pointed out a mistake I made. It was Ikuto who liked chocolate and Tadase who likes vanilla. Sorry for my mistake! I own nothing!**

Today was the day the kids were out of school. A great day for many, but not so much Rima. She didn't sleep that night, though she was extremely tired. However, that was the least of her problems.

"You're everything to me! I love you so much!" Rima heard from the door over. She grunted, knowing Kukai was staying over and was spending time with Utau. Their romantic talk wasn't making Rima feel any better. Especially since Kukai was Nagihiko's best friend and it forced Rima to think about Nagihiko. She hated him so much from last night, but she still loved him. Why, why? Rima decided to get up, and go downstairs. She walked out of her room, and headed to the stairs, passing Utau's room.

"Whoa, is that Mashiro?" Rima heard Kukai exclaim. Rima paused, turning. Kukai opened Utau's door, his eyes widening. "Wh-What are you doing here?"

"It's nothing." Rima muttered. She didn't really feel like explaining to Kukai everything. She was too lazy, but she suspected it would be forced to come out anyway.

"Yeah, but why are you staying here?" He asked.

"Rima, just tell him, or I will." Utau muttered, crossing her arms. Rima explained everything, but intentionally skipped the parts regarding Nagihiko.

"Wow… I didn't realize you were dealing with so much…" Kukai said. "Hey, I'm sorry!"

"Whatever." Rima muttered.

"Geez, so much must be on your shoulders!"

"More than you know…" Rima muttered.

"Hey, sometimes you can learn to just let go and try things differently! For example, try playing a sport! Those always help you let go…"

"Well, unlike you and rainbow hair, I'm not athletic! I hate sports!" Rima snapped angrily.

"Rainbow hair?" Kukai wondered. "Since when does Nagi have rainbow hair?" Rima glared at Kukai, shutting him up.

"Well… do you want breakfast Rima? I'll make it for you if you want…" Utau said.

"No, I'm fine. I'm going to head out." Rima said, going down the stairs. Out of the corner of her eye, Rima saw Kukai and Utau exchange glances. Rima went down the stairs, and went to the door.

"Hey Mashiro-San, how did you sleep?" Yukari asked.

"Fine." Rima lied, leaving the house. Rima walked a little bit, unsure of where she was going.

"Rima!~" Rima turned and saw Kusu-Kusu float beside her. "Why don't we go call Amu and Yaya and go do something with them and their charas!" Kusu-Kusu suggested.

"Maybe…" Rima muttered. She looked at the sky for a minute. It was a windy day, so her hair blew in the wind. She continued walking, until she passed a lake. Rima sat beside it, watching her reflection. She watched the lake, wondering what would happen if she just jumped in now, and drowned herself. It would be so easy, considering she couldn't swim… Something suddenly dawned on her; the only reason she didn't kill herself…

"Rima, what are you doing?" Kusu-Kusu exclaimed. "Back away from that lake, right now!" Rima looked at her chara, a smile spreading to her face.

"Thanks for being here for me, Kusu-Kusu. I'm sorry I haven't respected your company. I don't know what I would've done without you. You've helped me in so many ways I'll never understand…"

"Rima, don't even think about…" Tears came to Kusu-Kusu's eyes. "Rima, don't jump in… Please! You can't go…"

"Go where?" Rima wondered.

"Into the lake! Rima, please don't go into the lake!" Rima chuckled slightly.

"I'm not going to end my life Kusu-Kusu." Rima whispered. Kusu-Kusu smiled widely, and hugged Rima. "To be perfectly honest, you're the reason I'm not ending my life. I couldn't make you disappear for my selfish actions…" Kusu-Kusu smiled.

"Rima…" Kusu-Kusu whispered. "It's not _just_ me. It's Amu and Yaya and Tadase as well!" Rima smiled.

"I suppose…" Rima whispered. Kusu-Kusu was the only one who understood Rima. She was her guardian chara after all… Kusu-Kusu even knew not to say Nagihiko's name.

"Rima!" Rima turned and saw Amu and Yaya jog over. How did they know she was here?

"Hi…" Rima said.

"Let's go shopping! We need dresses for the dance!" Yaya said, sticking out her hand for Rima to take. Rima took her hand, and stood up.

"Ugh, fine…" Rima wondered. She followed Amu and Yaya to the mall. Kusu-Kusu was chatting with Pepe and Amu's charas.

"Hey Rima… What color dress do you think Tadase would like?" Amu asked. "And you too Yaya." Amu added, seeing Yaya narrowing her eyes.

"Blue!" Yaya said.

"Blue? Wouldn't that be a color more for…" Amu's eyes darkened. Rima was confused, when she realized who Amu was discussing. The other one who managed to ruin Rima's life…

"Then yellow!" Yaya yelled.

"Yaya, just because Tadase has blonde hair doesn't mean that's his favorite color." Rima muttered. "Yellow isn't my favorite color."

"What is your favorite color?" Amu asked Rima.

"Red I guess…" Rima muttered. She considered asking what the opposite of purple was, but then she realized it was yellow…

"Don't where a red dress Rima-Tan. You'll look like a vampire!" Yaya said. **(A/N funny because of my fanfic, Rima's life as a vampire. Please read!)** "Yaya wants to wear green! Or blue. Or yellow. Or pink."

"Well, that's a lot of colors…" Amu said, sweat dropping. "Well, it's noon now, so do you want lunch?" Rima and Yaya nodded, as they headed for the food court. They got their food, and began to eat.

"Amu-Chan, Yuiki-San, Mashiro-San!" All three of them turned, and saw Nagihiko and Tadase. Rima could've fainted at this point. It wasn't just a coincidence that they were there. Someone told the others that they were here… Rima looked at the plate, avoiding eye contact with Tadase and Nagihiko. They brought their plates to the girls. "How are you three?"

"We're good, just shopping for dresses for the dance." Amu said, smiling at Tadase. "How about you two?" Amu seemed as if she expected Tadase to be here.

"That's interesting." Nagihiko said, sitting next to Yaya and Amu. He didn't try to make eye contact with Rima, much to Rima's luck. They began to eat their food. Rima was done with guessing about this "coincidence."

"How did you guys know I was here?" Rima asked. All eyes were on her. "Amu, Yaya, you guys found me in a completely random spot. It's not just a coincidence that the guardians _happened_ to find each other in the mall."

"Well…" Amu's eyes narrowed. "El followed you and she told Yaya and I where we can find you. Then we phoned Tadase-Kun and Nagi to meet us at the mall." Rima realized that no one, except for Nagihiko of course, knew what happened last night. She realized that Nagihiko barely even knew what happened…

"Oh." Rima answered, continuing to eat.

"Why didn't you tell us you're staying at Sanjou-san's place?" Tadase asked. Rima coughed.

"W-What? How do you know…? Kukai, that idiot!"

"It wasn't completely Kukai. Amu-Chan and Yuiki-San told us as well." Tadase admitted, looking at Amu and Yaya apologetically. Rima glared at them.

"I thought I told you not to tell anyone! What else do you know?" Rima asked.

"There's some trouble with your parents…" Tadase said. "That's it, though…" Rima was mad now.

"There's _some_ trouble? That's a _huge_ understatement! I left my parents' house! They don't treat me as a human-being! They just fight and fight! That's not even all of my problems!" Rima stood up, angrily, ignoring the hot, angry tears falling down her cheeks.

"Rima-Chan, wait." Rima stopped, hearing Nagihiko talk for the first time.

"I thought I told you to stay away from me…" She whispered. Nagihiko ignored that comment.

"We only want to help you. We're your friends…"

"_They're my friends!_" Rima snapped. "Not you, never you!" Nagihiko was clearly hurt. Even Rima felt a little bad. "I-I didn't mean…" There was a silence. Rima didn't know what to do. She felt bad for him, and more affection seemed to be growing for him. Rima began to wonder if everyone else in the food court was watching them. Luckily, they were minding their own business. No one said anything.

"Rima…" Amu whispered. Why was Amu giving her pity? She was just extremely rude to Nagihiko!

"I didn't mean it…" Rima whispered. "Nagihiko, I'm…"

"Whatever." He grunted, clearly not forgiving her right away. Rima didn't know what to do. She looked at Kusu-Kusu, for advice. Kusu-Kusu gave her a small smile back. Tears were in Rima's eyes. Idiot! All he wanted to do was cheer her up, and what does she do? First she tells him that she hates him. The next day he cares so much that he comes back again, and Rima tells him that he was never her friend. Rima knows, that even if she wanted to deny it, she couldn't. They were friends…

"Hey everyone!" No one looks up as Kukai and Utau jog over. "What's up? Did something happen?"

"Kukai-Tan, you probably came at the worst time!" Yaya said. Kukai looked confused. "What happened?"

"You idiot! Someone will explain later!" Utau hissed, elbowing him.

"OW!" Kukai moaned. Rima lifted her head, feeling Utau's eyes on her. Utau knew that the problems were caused by Rima, of course. The girl who causes drama… The one who's life is so screwed up that she finds herself screwing up everyone.

"Yes Utau, I started another problem." Rima grunted, assuming those were her thoughts. "I should be going. Thanks for the idea of dress shopping Amu and Yaya. Good day." Rima stood up, and left everyone watching her. She walked into the girl's bathroom, which was empty. She opened a stall, and closed it, crying.

"Rima, it's okay… sometimes you can't control what you say…" Kusu-Kusu whispered.

"I really screwed up this time! Even if he was once my friend, surely I ruined that forever! As I ruin _everything_!" Rima moaned, curling into a ball. "I'm an idiot Kusu-Kusu… Why should someone stupid like me get an amazing chara like you?"

"Rima, you aren't stupid! You aren't an idiot! You're a good person! He'll forgive you, don't worry. Nagi-Kun is great at forgiving people!"

"How could anyone forgive me?" Rima muttered. She wiped away her tears, and left the bathroom. She paused, seeing Amu, Yaya, and Kukai waiting for her. She really didn't feel like talking to any of them, especially Kukai.

"RIMA-TAN! YOU AREN'T LEAVING WITHOUT HAVING THE BEST ICE CREAM IN THE WORLD!" Yaya yelled. Rima stared blankly at her.

"Um, what?" Rima wondered. Ice cream?

"It's the best ice cream in the world Rima! C'mon, we have to go!" Amu said.

"Yeah!" Kukai agreed. "We got this ice cream at the end of the final soccer game, and boy, it was amazing!"

"When you say 'we,' do you mean you and the team, or you and Utau?" Kukai turned red.

"…Utau…" Kukai admitted. "I'll admit, she didn't like the ice cream as much as me, but she even liked it!"

"Did you have an ice cream eating contest like you do with ramen?" Yaya asked. Kukai shook his head.

"Nah, that's a ramen thing!" Kukai said. "Well, anyway, let's get ice cream!" The four of them went to get ice cream.

"Amu… What are… the other three doing?" Rima asked.

"They're getting ice cream too." Amu said. "However, they're not sitting with us." Rima looked at the ground.

"…They can sit with us." All eyes turned to Rima. "Look, I feel terrible about what I said to Nagi… Amu, Yaya, I still mean every word I told you before." Amu and Yaya looked shocked, and Kukai looked confused.

"What?" Kukai looked confused. Rima turned to him. "I have a crush on your purple haired friend." Kukai's eyes widened.

"…WHAT?" Kukai exclaimed, shocked. Rima turned bright red, turning the other way. "And I thought he was rainbow hair?" Rima looked at him, as if he was stupid.

"Rainbow hair? Nagi doesn't have rainbow hair." Amu said.

"It's… never mind." Rima muttered.

"Does he know?" Kukai exclaimed. Rima turned at him.

"I wouldn't tell him, you idiot! I don't want a relationship with him! I just happen to be freaking in love with him!" Rima said. "Of course I didn't tell him!"

"Okay…" Kukai said. They got their ice cream, and Yaya immediately started licking it. A wide smile grew on Yaya's face.

"IT'S SOOOOOO GOOD!" Yaya exclaimed. Rima licked it slowly, tasting. Rima even had to admit, it was the best ice cream she had ever tasted and it tasted amazing. It made her even momentarily feel better. Suddenly, Rima felt she had to ask something.

"Is he mad at me?" Rima asked, scared for the answer. She licked the ice cream that seemed to be from heaven.

"…I don't think he was ever mad at you." Amu whispered. Rima almost dropped her ice cream.

"Yes he was! He snapped at me!" Rima said. "He had to have been mad at me! _How could he have not been mad at me? I'm a bully to him!_" Rima realized once again that besides today and yesterday, she had been extremely mean to him all through her depression. Even before that, she wasn't exactly _nice_ to him… She remembered the day when she was upset and Nagihiko and Amu tried to cheer her up. Her sadness couldn't even be compared with now. The thing that made her laugh was when _Nagihiko_ fell into a hole. Not Amu, not Kusu-Kusu's "funny" faces. Just when he got hurt… Suddenly the heavenly ice cream tasted empty, if that was even possible.

"Amu-Chan, you were right! This ice cream is amazing!" Tadase exclaimed.

"Suited just for a king!" Kiseki agreed. Utau and Nagihiko followed Tadase. Rima's heart probably fell two hundred stories. She had no idea what to say; sorry? She already tried that, and it didn't work out. However, right now, he seemed to be enjoying his ice cream, not looking at Rima.

"Well, it was more Yaya and Kukai who suggested it, but they were right!" Amu agreed, licking her chocolate ice cream. Tadase seemed to frown at Amu's ice cream, but continued to lick his vanilla.

"Yaya feels like… she's in heaven! IT'S SO GOOD!" Yaya exclaimed, twirling. Suddenly, Yaya dropped the ice cream. Rima sweat dropped, frightened for Yaya's reaction. "NOOOOO!~ NO! NO!" Yaya burst into tears.

"You shouldn't have twirled." Rima muttered. She handed her ice cream to Yaya. Through blurry tears, Yaya looked at the ice cream, than Rima.

"R-Really?" Yaya exclaimed. Yaya took it, than hugged Rima.

"Honestly Yaya, why are you hugging me _with_ your ice cream? Do you want to drop it again?" Rima muttered.

"THANKS RIMA-TAN! YOU'RE THE NICEST PERSON EVER!" Yaya said, licking Rima's old ice cream. Like that was even close to true… Rima wasn't nice at all… There was a silence for a minute, except for Yaya's burst of happiness with the ice cream. After everyone finished their ice creams, they left the mall.

"We should play basketball!" Kukai said, grinning at Nagihiko.

"I'm in Kukai, but later…" Nagihiko said.

"Okay, fine…" Kukai muttered.

"Besides, you really don't want to exclude your girlfriend in any activities do you?" Nagihiko said, crossing his arms, and smirking. Kukai and Utau turned bright red.

"W-What? I'm not excluding her! You…" Kukai paused, unsure of what to say. Nagihiko raised an eyebrow.

"I, what?" Nagihiko asked, daring him.

"I don't know!" Kukai said, a lie that Rima noticed. If he was going to put her name involved, Rima would've murdered him.

"Amu-Chan, I sense X-Eggs ~desu!" Su exclaimed. Amu looked at her green chara, and the guardians plus the others, went to purify the X-Eggs. However, when they got to the area, they recognized them as the already impossible to purify X-Eggs. Rima's eyes darkened.

"Well, we already know about these." Kukai grunted.

"Sorry ~desu!" Su moaned.

"It's okay Su." Amu said, smiling. They all stared at the X-Eggs for a minute. Rima really didn't want to be here. It made her feel guilty.

"So, what are you guys up to?" Everyone turned and saw Ikuto standing there. If Nagihiko had caused Rima's heart to drop, Ikuto made her practically pass out. Rima's heart began to beat really fast. However, on the outside, Rima only turned pale. "I can see how happy you are to see me." He muttered.

"Ikuto, what are you doing here?" Utau wondered, crossing her arms.

"I'm simply visiting my friends, that's all." Ikuto muttered, sneering the word "friends."

"Ikuto… we don't want you." Amu whispered. Tadase took her hand. Ikuto turned to her, his eyes darkening. "Let's go…"

"Wait, Amu!" Ikuto called. Amu turned. "I don't give a crap about anyone else here. I just came for _you_." Utau looked hurt.

"Well, after what you did to my closest friend, I don't want to look at you!" Amu snapped. She crossed her arms.

"You don't understand! I did it to…" Ikuto stopped.

"I thought you were a good person, but all you do is deceive everyone! You owe Rima an apology! You're ignoring your own sister! Do you honestly expect me to trust you? I don't!" Tadase squeezed her hand.

"Let go." Ikuto muttered.

"I don't think I will, Ikuto-Niisan." Tadase said. Ikuto glared at him, in a Rima-like manner, but it still didn't threaten Tadase. "My own heart, unlock!" Ikuto whispered. He transformed into Black Lynx, and before landing, slashed at Tadase.

"Tadase-Kun!" Amu cried. He fell to the ground, injured.

"Ikuto, what was that?" Utau exclaimed, transforming as well.

"That's what you get for touching Amu, little king." Ikuto muttered. Yoru snickered from inside him.

"Don't call me-" Tadase's character change was cut off by Ikuto who knocked him out. Amu kneeled beside him.

"Someday, you'll understand that I'm the one for you, and not him." Ikuto muttered.

"How dare you hurt Tadase-Kun!" Amu whispered. Anger rised in Amu.

"Amu, don't transform." Utau muttered. "Leave Ikuto to me. Leave with Rima and the others." Amu shook her head.

"No, I need to stay." Amu said. Rima forced a look at Ikuto. He was scratching his claws together, in a noise that was really annoying.

"STOP!" Yaya moaned. All eyes fell on her. "That noise is really bothersome!" Ikuto continued, as Yaya screeched in annoyance.

"Hey, Yaya told you to stop, so, um, stop." Kukai said.

"What makes you think I really give a crap? Besides, why do you give a crap about Yaya? Are you cheating on my sister?"

"WHAT? No! Yaya's like my sister! I look after her the same way you looked after Tadase…"

"I never cared about Tadase…" Ikuto muttered.

"Don't lie Ikuto; you did!" Utau yelled. "The three of us were like a family… We still are, except that you're barely apart anymore!" Tears fell down her face, but she didn't stop them. "I miss the Ikuto who cared about us!" She wiped her tears away. Kukai held her hand. Amu's legs were shaking.

"Um, what are we supposed to do?" Yaya whispered. Rima looked at her.

"…I... don't know…" Rima admitted.

"This is hard for you, isn't it?" Yaya asked.

"Whatever." Rima grumbled.

"I have an idea." Yaya and Rima turned to face Nagihiko. "Let's leave." Rima blinked. She looked at him blankly.

"Um, leave? Just leave everyone else randomly fighting Ikuto? We can't do that! What about the X-Eggs?"

"…We can't purify them now. They aren't moving, so we can just come back to them." Nagihiko reassured.

"Yaya has to stay; Kukai-Tan needs her help!" Yaya said, jogging over to Kukai. Rima was now alone with Nagihiko, making her uncomfortable.

"Look, you really don't want to be here, do you?" Rima looked at the ground. "Come on, it's the best plan."

"…Fine." Rima muttered.

"I know I'm not the one you exactly want to be with, but I think it's better me than Ikuto." Rima knew he was right. "Take my hand."

"WHAT? I'm not taking your hand!" Rima snapped, a little louder than intended. Nagihiko sighed, grabbing her hand, and dragging her out of the "battle." After they got far enough from the "battle," Nagihiko let go, and Rima fell to the ground, panting.

"You alright?" Nagihiko asked, sitting next to her.

"Yeah…" Rima whispered. She was relieved to be far away from Ikuto. Even if that meant her and Nagihiko _alone_… Rima realized it was perfect. "Um." Nagihiko turned to her. "I'm sorry… For, um, well, a lot…" He laughed a little. That wasn't what she imagined Nagihiko would do.

"Don't worry about it. You've been down lately, I understand." Nagihiko said.

"Yeah, but before that…"

"You're going back to _that_? I never minded that. I always knew you were kidding." He smiled, making Rima sigh. How could he always manage to impress her after all of this? After so hard she tried not to fall for him…

"Do you still want to know my problems these past few weeks?" Rima asked, surprised by asking that. It had fallen out of her mouth unintentionally.

"I guess I have to admit, yeah." Nagihiko said. What had Rima done? Now she was guaranteed telling him.

"Ugh, fine…" Rima muttered.

"You're actually going to tell me?" Nagihiko said. Rima nodded.

"I can change my mind still…" Rima said, smirking. "Well, I'm not going to…" Rima felt that he should know for some reason. She figured she should tell him, before Kukai accidently tells him. "Well, um…" Rima hesitated. However, she had to tell him. "I've had a crush on you for this whole entire time."

**That's where I'm going to leave us. A nice, open, cliffhanger. I am going away in a few days, so I probably won't update this story for a while… I'm sorry to all Amuto fans about Ikuto's current annoyance/evilness. However, in later chapters, Ikuto won't be such an idiot. I'm happy RimaHiko finally is coming true! Anyways, please review! **


	7. The Pain

**I'm sorry it took a while for this chapter to be posted. You see, I went on vacation, and I wasn't working on my stories. I own nothing, as usual, except the plot. I don't even own the song that this was originally based off of, but doesn't have much to do with anymore… Warning: A lot of cursing.**

_"I've had a crush on you for this whole entire time."_

Rima was breathing slowly. She had only said that one sentence and it already seemed like time froze. That was clearly the hardest part to tell him. What was he going to say, or do? Rima wanted to look at him, to see his reaction, but she was too nervous. Her heart was beating 100 miles per hour, at minimum. She was sweating madly. The color of her face was that of an apple. However, she knew she had to continue. She closed her eyes, and breathed heavily. After exhaling, Rima opened her eyes. She forced a look at Nagihiko, who like her, was trying not to make eye contact. He was flustered as well, but not quite as much as Rima.

"W-Well, um, so…" Rima stopped, unsure how to keep going. It came out so much easier when she was telling Utau, Amu, and Yaya. "I-It started wh-when I…" Rima breathed again. "K-K-Kissed you…" Her stutter was annoying her. "…To be perfectly honest, it was a dare from Amu and Yaya. Yet, I listened… because of what I said before…" Nagihiko nodded slowly, stiffly. "After that day, everything changed…"

"Rima-Chan… N-Not to interrupt, but how does liking me cause you…trouble?" Nagihiko wondered. Rima hesitated.

"Since my parents got so much worse, I guess I didn't…I _don't_… Believe romance works out ever." Rima said. Was that it; the only reason Nagihiko was such a pain? Did Rima actually have a reason? Why did she just ignore his existence? He only tried to help… Tears formed in Rima's eyes, and she tried her best to keep it hidden, but she couldn't. To her surprise, Nagihiko took her hand. She stiffened, turned red again. Her tears seemed to melt. "W-Well anyway… My parents began to fight over every little thing. They barely even remembered my existence. They never noticed I ever sometimes snuck out of my house. They only fought and fought. One day, a few days ago, I snuck out to the park, and I found Ikuto. He, however, didn't notice…" Suddenly something sparked in Rima's mind. How could she have not noticed? It wasn't just a coincidence she was listening to him play and then he asks her out!

"Well, anyway… He actually must have noticed me since the next day he asked me out. I accepted, the guardians boring me. We went to the nearby diner, and then by 'coincidence,' an X-Egg was attacking me, and he saved me, destroying it. I ended up kissing him, for some reason. The next day, was when he announced he was going out with me… you probably remember that. I skipped the guardians after school, and helped out by creating X-Eggs, those being able to be purified. The next day, I quit the guardians, and, well, you know what happened." Nagihiko nodded, as Rima breathed again. "So… I went on home after, to find my parents waiting for me, yelling at me for leaving them. I yelled at them, and then left my house. I met up with Utau, and I'm currently staying at Sanjou-San's house, as you know. The rest… has much to do with you…"

"I never realized you were going through so much…" Nagihiko whispered. Rima wanted to explode with tears, but she didn't. She also realized that they were still holding hands. She slid her hand out of his, and sat down, out of breath from telling Nagihiko everything. Nagihiko knelt beside her. "I know it was hard, but thanks for telling me everything." He whispered.

"I'm sorry…" She muttered.

"Sorry? How come?" Nagihiko wondered. "I should be saying sorry to you, if anything…"

"I've been extremely rude to you, when all you've done was try to make me better. I've never been nice to you ever… Even before all of this…"

"Really, you're going back to before?" Nagihiko laughed slightly. "Honestly Rima-Chan, that never bothered me. I actually found your insults entertaining. Even when you were rude to me these past two days… I just happened to be there when you didn't want me. It's okay." Why was he so forgiving?

"No, when I yelled at you 'I hate you,' I'm the one who found you." Rima muttered.

"I was prying though." Nagihiko countered. Wait, was this seriously happening? They were arguing about whether Rima was being mean or not. Rima smiled softly.

"Whatever." Rima muttered. There was silence for a minute.

"I should let you know, that… I like you too." Rima looked up, completely surprised. That was one thing she never expecting coming out of Nagihiko's mouth.

"W-What?" Rima exclaimed, turning red for the third time in a row.

"Really, you're that surprised? I thought it was sort of obvious…" Nagihiko whispered.

"H-How long have you liked me for?" Rima wondered. She was now extremely curious, and didn't hide her curiosity. Nagihiko opened his mouth to speak, when Yaya came dashing over to them.

"LET'S GET CANDY!" Yaya yelled. She was twirling uncontrollably. Rima blinked at Yaya.

"Um, why are you spinning?" Rima wondered. "Do you have a logical reason?"

"YAYA WANTS CANDY!" Yaya moaned. Kukai walked over to them. Amu followed shortly after, with Tadase leaning on her.

"Hotori-San, are you okay?" Nagihiko asked, standing up.

"I-I'm okay…" Tadase reassured. He was scratched, from Ikuto's claws. The spots from where he was scratched were red, and blood was coming down his face. Amu helped him down.

"Does anyone have a tissue?" Nagihiko wondered. "We can put pressure on the spots in which Hotori-San's bleeding." If Rima had a tissue, she would've used it to prevent her from crying. No one said anything.

"I'm fine, really…" Tadase reassured, standing up. He rubbed some blood off his face, and smiled softly.

"CANDY!" Yaya moaned.

"One minute!" Amu snapped at Yaya, her cool and spicy mode kicking in. Yaya quieted down, looking sad.

"What happened to Utau?" Rima wondered quietly.

"She's following Ikuto." Kukai said, his voice shaking. "Hopefully she's being careful…" Rima rolled her eyes, Kukai's feelings for Utau making her nauseous. Amu was also being overprotective over Tadase. Is that what romance was like? Rima was never protective of Nagihiko. She looked at him. He was busy helping Tadase. She hoped that if she ever was in pain, he wouldn't obsess over her.

"I think he's fine…" Amu whispered. "Let's head back to the Royal Garden." Every nodded, and Kukai helped Tadase. Amu walked beside them, asking Tadase whether he was okay every two seconds.

"IS IT CANDY TIME?" Yaya exclaimed. "Yaya wants candy!" Yaya was moaning, and Rima sighed.

"Nope. It probably will never be." Rima said, mostly to spite Yaya. Yaya's eyes widened. "Yaya, I was kidding. I'm sure it will happen. Just don't remind everyone every two seconds…"

"Reminding everyone every two seconds? OKAY!" Yaya ran off.

"No Yaya, I said… Ugh!" Rima muttered. Now Yaya was going to not shut up about wanting candy. Rima stayed to the back of the group, trying to ignore Yaya. She thought about everything that happened today. She wondered what her parents were doing. Were they concerned about her? Was there police searching for her? Were they… still fighting? Rima already knew that they had to be still fighting. She was curious however.

"Rima, what are you thinking about?" Kusu-Kusu asked.

"Kusu-Kusu… I'm going to pay my family a little visit." Rima whispered. "Tell the guardians that I'll meet them in a few minutes."

"But Rima isn't it… a little risky?" Kusu-Kusu asked. "I mean, they might force you to come back."

"I'm only going to come back if they don't fight." Rima whispered a small smile on her face. "Meet me there." Kusu-Kusu looked at Rima, and floated the opposite direction. Rima watched her chara go, and made her way to her house. Was her house still considered "her house?" She arrived in front of the door, and hesitated. However, the door opened, revealing her mother.

"Where were you?" Her mother asked, a dark edge to her voice.

"…I'm staying at a friend's house." Rima whispered.

"Well, you aren't to see that friend anymore!" Her mother snapped. Tears came to Rima's eyes. She was going to yell back; tell her mom that she didn't listen to her anymore. Yet, no words could come out.

"She should stay with her friend who has a better mother than you!" Rima heard her father yell. Realization came to Rima. Nothing changed…

"Excuse me? I was never a negative impact on Rima's life! It was you who screwed up her life!" Screwed up her life… A shadow crossed Rima's face. It's true… even her parents say so. Rima suddenly felt like a little kid again, and wanted her mother to hold her; tell her everything would be okay. She wanted her mother and father to give her advice about the whole Ikuto and Nagihiko stuff. Yet, she didn't even have them to talk to.

"It was you!" Her father screamed. Suddenly, her father did what Rima didn't expect. He lifted a flower vase, and threw it across the house. Rima screamed impulsively, covering her mouth.

"That was given to me by my mother before she died… HOW DARE YOU!" Her mother screamed. She grabbed the ring given to her by Rima's dad, and threw it to the ground, stepping on it. Suddenly, she lunged for Rima's dad, punching him. Rima was horrified. She didn't know what to do, or how to act. She was frozen in spot.

"Do you honestly think you can hurt me! You're just a worthless woman!" Rima's father screamed.

"How dare you! Women are better than men, you fucking bastard son of a bitch!" Her mother screamed. She threw a clock at Rima's father.

"That was given to me by my brother…" Rima's father whispered angrily. He faced Rima suddenly, and walked to her. "Poor child, raised by such a terrible woman…" He hit Rima in the face really hard. Rima fell to the ground, surprised. "You have your mother's eyes… You're going to turn into a fucking bitch just like her!" Rima's eyes watered, as she began crying hysterically. Her father kicked her out of the house, and slammed the door. Rima fell down the steps leading to the house, and fell to the ground. She was in lots of pain, and she was crying uncontrollably. It was a mistake… She shouldn't have come back!

"R-RIMA!" She heard Kusu-Kusu exclaim. "Rima, what happened?" Rima was crying too hard to said any comprehendible words. "Rima…" Rima stood up slowly, her leg hurting. She breathed, and explained what happened, and then started crying again. Kusu-Kusu stared at Rima in astonishment.

"W-W-We should go…" Rima whispered. She started walking away from the house, limping.

"Rima, your leg…" Kusu-Kusu whispered.

"It's fine…" She whispered. However, nothing was fine. Rima was done. Her parents hate each other enough that they are throwing things at each other. Her mother even destroyed the wedding ring. Her father had hit her and threw her down the steps. It was over… Rima was through with life. She passed the Royal Garden, and saw everyone talking. Yaya's mouth was opening a lot. Rima did care about them. She knew they would be sad if she killed herself. For god's sake, Nagihiko loved her! That pained Rima, but she was done. After watching them for a few more minutes, Rima walked away, unsure of how to end her life.

"Wait Rima, where are you going?" Kusu-Kusu wondered. When Rima didn't answer, Kusu-Kusu floated in front of her. "Rima, don't even think about…"

"It's over." Rima whispered. "I'm done."

"No you aren't! There are great things in your life coming! Don't let one bad event bring you down." Kusu-Kusu said.

"_One_ bad event? Kusu-Kusu, my life is a _chain_ of bad events!" Rima said. She sighed. "It's better for everyone if I'm gone."

"No it's not! Everyone would be upset! The guardians love you. Especially…"

"Don't bring him up." Rima muttered. "We were never going to be anything anyway…" Rima found a kitchen knife lying on the ground. She picked it up. She gripped it tightly, and pulled it closer to her chest. Tears were pouring out of her eyes, but she ignored them. She closed her eyes and…

"RIMA-TAN NOOOOO!~" Rima opened her eyes, and felt Yaya hug her so hard, that it tackled her. Rima dropped the knife in surprised, falling to the ground.

"Yaya!" Rima exclaimed, surprised. The knife fell to the ground. Amu picked up the knife, and dropped it in the nearby lake.

"Too bad for whoever that knife belonged to." Amu muttered. Rima looked up at the sky, and saw Nagihiko, Tadase, and Kukai as well.

"RIMA-TAN I LOVE YOU! I NEED YOU!" Yaya moaned. "DON'T GO!" Yaya was crying, and hugged Rima tighter.

"If you don't want me to die, please don't squeeze me." Rima muttered. Yaya loosened, but still hugged her. Rima smiled softly, and patted her back.

"Rima…" Amu whispered. "Do you want to tell us what happened?" Rima shook her head. She knew she would have to later but not now… She was done explaining for a day. Yaya let go of her. Rima stood up, but she was still crying. Nagihiko hugged her, making her freeze. Everyone stared at them, in complete shock.

"Well something must have happened." Kukai muttered. Rima let go of Nagihiko, blushing. She was happy that Yaya had saved her. If she had killed herself, Kusu-Kusu would've been gone as well. It wouldn't have been fair to Kusu-Kusu. Maybe Rima still had a chance…

"S-Sorry…" Rima muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"Sorry? Why are you sorry?" Yaya wondered. Rima opened her mouth, and quickly closed it. Why was she sorry?

"Mashiro-San, we know you're going through a lot." Tadase comforted.

"You don't even know half of it…" Rima grumbled.

"Actually, the others told me everything." Tadase told her. "So, I'm all caught up." Rima sighed. They all probably knew what happened with Nagihiko yesterday as well.

"Well…" Rima explained what had just happened a half an hour ago, as she broke down crying. Everyone stared at her, in surprise.

"W-What?" Nagihiko exclaimed. He held her hand, and squeezed it gently. Rima said nothing.

"What did you do?" Amu asked Rima.

"Just left." She answered, squeezing Nagihiko's hand back.

"Are you… hurt?" Kukai wondered.

"Nope." Rima lied. "I'm fine…" However, that was a lie. Rima was anything but fine. Not only that, she was in some pain. "I want to go back to Sanjou-San's place." She whispered.

"Of course, we'll help you." Nagihiko offered. Rima let go of his hand, and stood up. She faced him.

"I don't need your help." Rima muttered, and walked away. She was limping. Suddenly, her leg was hurting so much, that she couldn't walk anymore. She happened to be next to a bench, so she gripped it, panting.

"We were wondering how far you'd get." Rima turned, seeing the other guardians and Kukai walk over to her. Rima sighed in defeat.

"Don't be stubborn Rima-Chan." Amu reassured.

"You're one to talk." Rima muttered coldly. Amu character changed, and picked her up. She flew her back to Sanjou-San's house. Everyone arrived, and walked inside.

"What happened?" Yukari asked, seeing Rima in pain and Tadase with a lot of band-aids. Rima sat down on the couch.

"A lot…" Kukai said, sweat dropping. "Utau!" He jumped to his feet, and hugged her.

"You could give me slightly more warning…" Utau muttered.

"Sorry… Are you okay? What happened after you tracked down Ikuto?" Kukai asked. Ikuto's name didn't make Rima feel any better. Utau hesitated for a moment.

"N-Nothing really." Utau answered. Rima looked up, recognizing it as a lie. Rima knew lies very well, considering she has been doing a bunch of them recently.

"Is that all?" Nagihiko asked. Everyone turned to him, questioningly. Rima realized that he, too, understood lies very well.

"Yes. I wouldn't hide anything important from you guys." Utau said. Suddenly, there were footsteps, and Kairi came downstairs.

"It's been a while." He whispered to everyone.

"KAIRI-KUN!" Yaya exclaimed, hugging him. He seemed surprised, but happy as well. He hugged her back. Yukari cackled.

"Um, Yukari, what was that?" Nikaidou wondered.

"What? I was laughing! Shut up Yuu!" Yukari defended.

"Okay okay, geez!" Nikaidou muttered. Yukari glared at her fiancée. "Well, hello everyone! If you guys want, you can feel free to stay over the night! We have enough rooms for some of you to share."

"Correction. All of you except for Kukai can stay." Utau muttered. Kukai pouted. She smirked.

"Aw c'mon! You have to let me stay!" Kukai moaned. Utau frowned.

"Are you an idiot? It was a joke, you idiot!" Utau said.

"Oh…" Kukai smiled sheepishly.

"Honestly, you're the most worthless person ever." Utau said, going over to kiss him. They kissed, surprising everyone, including Kukai.

"Well, I'll show you guys to your rooms." Kairi said, pushing his glasses into place. Yaya, still grabbing his arm, followed him, along with everyone else. "Queen, you'll stay in the room you've been staying at." Rima nodded, but followed everyone else anyway.

"Rima-Chan, you should rest your leg." Nagihiko suggested. She nodded, and went to her room. She was happy to be alone, well with Kusu-Kusu anyway.

"Long day, huh?" Kusu-Kusu said. Rima nodded slowly. "Hey, lots of good stuff happened too! Nagi has a crush on you!" Rima nodded. "You had the world's best ice cream!"

"Not really, I gave it to Yaya." Rima reminded her.

"Well, you had some of it!" Kusu-Kusu reassured.

"Well, it was fine, besides what happened with my parents and my two attempts at suicide." Rima said. She felt bad for being mean to Kusu-Kusu's attempts at optimism. "Whatever, it was a…interesting day." Rima muttered. She fell onto her bed, and fell to sleep, despite the fact it was six o'clock.

**Done! This chapter was originally going to be the most peaceful, simply a romance chapter. Well, whatever… Please rate and review! I really need reviews =D.**


	8. Dress Shopping

**Yay an update! This chapter is a lot lighter on the drama. This and along with next chapter are really leading up to chapter 10. I own nothing, and please enjoy.**_  
><em>

_"Mama, Papa, look!" She balanced on one foot, showing them the bala-balance act. Ever since she had seen a TV special on it, she had been into to comedy acts. She had realized that she actually loved making people laugh. It made people happy, and she knew that was good. That's when Kusu-Kusu was born. She was Rima's side that loved to make people smile, giggle, and laugh._

_ "It's cute Rima!" Her mother said, giggling. Rima smiled widely._

_ "I love it! It's perfect!" Her father said. He put his arm around Rima's mom. Rima loved her parents. She loved doing things with them. They were a perfect family… A perfect family…_

* * *

><p>Tears formed in Rima's eyes now. Her perfect family? Her parents and her were far from it. Rima wanted those good old days back; the days when her parents loved each other…<p>

"Yum, this is good! Thanks Sanjou-San!" Kukai said his mouth full of food. Rima suddenly remembered that everyone was staying over the night.

"…You're welcome!" Yukari said, beaming. Nikaidou glared at her.

"Actually, that was _me_ who made the waffles for you. Yukari over there should not be taking credit for others." Nikaidou pointed out.

"S-Shut up Yuu!" Yukari yelled at him. "You suck!" Thunder seemed to form in the two of their eyes. Everyone sweat dropped, and finished their breakfast.

"We should… go on an adventure!" Yaya exclaimed. Everyone looked at her. "C'mon, it would be so much fun!"

"Well, the dance is coming in two days, and we really aren't prepared enough…" Tadase reminded. "Tsukasa-San said that we'll have the dance in the cafeteria. That's about all we know…"

"Didn't we decide on a space theme?" Nagihiko wondered. His voice made Rima cringe, and start blushing.

"Nagihiko's right, I think we did!" Amu remembered. "Wow, it wasn't too long ago, but it felt like so long since we discussed this… What was it, two days only?" Rima realized she was right. It was only two days. Yet, so much seemed to happen in just two days… How was that even possible?

"We need dresses for the dance!~ Amu-Chi, Rima-Tan, dress time, NOW! Utau-Chi, want to come?" Yaya exclaimed.

"Dress shopping isn't exactly my thing, sorry." Utau muttered. "Besides, I can't, I'm, err, busy." Rima was curious about what was up, but Yaya grinned suddenly, looking at Kukai.

"Yaya can only guess where you are going..." She said, snickering. Utau stared at Yaya.

"We can go with that…" She muttered darkly. She saw who Yaya was looking back and forth at. "I'm not with him today."

"EH? You aren't?" Yaya exclaimed.

"Nope…" Kukai admitted. "I have to practice for my soccer game tomorrow. I'm the co-captain. Next year however, when the current captain graduates, the captain position will belong to me!" Kukai said grinning.

"Good for you." Nagihiko said.

"Hey! Don't you care? C'mon, you're my bestie!" Kukai moaned. Nagihiko stared at Kukai as if he was stupid.

"…Bestie? Kukai, word of note, don't say 'bestie.' It really doesn't suit you…" Nagihiko muttered. Rima noticed Amu and Yaya exchange glances.

"Fine… Well, I better get going. Buh-bye!" Kukai left the house to practice. Suddenly, Amu and Yaya started laughing.

"What's up?" Tadase asked.

"Oh Nagi, the way you said that to Kukai! I'm pretty sure you've spent too much time with Rima. That's something she would say!" Amu said. Both turned red, and Rima glared at Amu.

"Uh… well…" Nagihiko muttered, flustered. "S-Strange coincidence… I suppose. Heh…"

"COME ON! DRESS SHOPPING NOW!" Yaya grabbed Rima and Amu's arms, and dragged them.

"Good-bye?" Tadase said. Soon, they arrived at the mall. When Yaya let go, both Rima and Amu started panting.

"So, what type of dresses are we going to get?" Amu wondered.

"Whatever you guys like!" Yaya said. "Hope you guys have money!" Rima face palmed.

"Um, I don't even own a single penny anymore…" Rima muttered.

"Don't worry Rima-Tan, we'll pay for you!" Yaya reassured. Amu smiled at Rima as well. Rima stared at her friends, surprised they'd do that for her.

"…Thanks…" Rima muttered a small smile on her face. Yaya and Amu smiled as well.

"Rima, you don't even care too much about your dress anyway. We'll pick the whole thing for you, don't worry!" Rima's smile faded. Oh no, what will they pick for her? Rima felt very strangely frightened for her life.

"I heard you three were going dress shopping, so I wondered if I could join, even though I'm not dancing at your dance." All three turned, and Rima could've died.

"N-Nadeshiko!" Amu exclaimed, running over, and hugging "her." Rima grunted slightly at that. What on earth was he doing here? "It's been so long! How are you? How was Europe?" Nadeshiko smiled.

"I've missed you Amu… Europe was nice. It really is a nice place. Ah, Yaya-Chan…" Yaya had hugged her tightly, making Nadeshiko choke for breath. Rima crossed her arms, frowning at Nadeshiko.

"Yaya missed Nade-Tan! Oh, Nade, you never met Rima-Tan, did you? This is Rima! She's going out with your…" Rima covered Yaya's mouth quickly.

"No we aren't!" Rima hissed quietly. She slid her hand off Yaya's mouth, and faced Nadeshiko. She didn't smile, or even fake one.

"Rima, that's Nadeshiko, Nagihiko's twin sister. She was the queen before you." Rima could've laughed. She was "meeting" the person whom had conquered most of her thoughts these past few weeks.

"Ah, nice to meet you, Mashiro-San." Nadeshiko said, sticking her hand out.

"How do you know my last name? No one said it." Rima muttered. Nadeshiko's face paled.

"W-Well, my brother talks highly of you…" Nadeshiko muttered. She narrowed her eyes, and Rima smirked.

"Alright, you two met! Now dress shopping!" Yaya ran ahead, Amu struggling to catch up.

"Why are you here?" Rima hissed.

"I wanted to join you three, of course." Nadeshiko said a smile on her face. Rima raised her eyebrows, when Nadeshiko sighed. "It was this, or watching Kukai play soccer. Soccer was always boring in my opinion, so I chose you guys." She explained. Rima nodded.

"Well, I would've picked Kukai playing soccer…" Rima grumbled. "Yet, I don't really ever get a choice, do I?" She looked at the ground, suddenly feeling morose. Nadeshiko took her hand.

"It will all be better, don't worry." She reassured. Rima was blushing. "Trust me, Rima-Chan."

"Um, it looks awkward when you are holding my hand as Nadeshiko." Rima muttered. Nadeshiko glared at her, letting go.

"Come on!~" Yaya moaned from far away. Both of them caught up with Yaya and Amu. They walked inside a store.

"I like this dress." Amu said, holding one. It was dark blue, with laces on it. The color of the dress looked a lot like the hair of… someone Rima hated to think about. "Do you guys think Tadase would like it?" Rima looked at Amu.

"It's nice. However, Tadase would hate it." Rima said.

"Eh? Why do you say that, Rima?" Amu wondered. She looked at Rima curiously. Rima shrugged, deciding not to tell her.

"That's a dress I would like." All four of them jumped, as Ikuto walked over. Rima's heart was beating quickly. Why was Ikuto there?

"I-Ikuto! What do you want?" Amu asked, blushing.

"You." He answered.

"I'm done with you! How many times do I have to say that? I'm with Tadase-Kun! Go away, Ikuto!" Amu yelled.

"If you're done with me, why are you blushing?" Ikuto wondered.

"S-Shut up!" Amu yelled. "What you did to Rima… it's unforgivable. You broke her heart!"

"Well, she should face reality. Not everything in life is a happy fairytale. You don't one day find the prince of your dreams and run off and get married." Ikuto said. Rima was mad now.

"Excuse me? I have realized that! My life is the _opposite_ of a fairytale! My life sucks! The only reason I went with you was to find an escape! However, you only made me worse. You showed me the only purpose of my life; to suck. Perhaps I should thank you." Rima was close to tears.

"Life sucks. Get used to it." Ikuto muttered. Rima opened her mouth to say more. "Amu, you're the only person who runs away with a prince. However, your prince isn't exactly someone you'll always want."

"I love Tadase!" Amu yelled. Ikuto's face turned dark. Rima didn't feel bad for him at all. "He's everything I ever want! I never wanted you Ikuto. You were only an interference!"

"You'll regret that…" Ikuto whispered. "One day, Amu Hinamori, you will realize you love me. It will be too late though." Amu's eyes widened, as Ikuto stepped closer to her. He leaned in close to her, and then stopped. He turned to Rima. "It's stupid for you to stay attracted to me."

"I'm not attracted to you!" Rima yelled. "I've moved on! I'm with… him!" Rima nodded towards Nagihiko, forgetting he was dressed as Nadeshiko.

"Him? Doesn't look too much like a girl. Oh well… Good bye, Amu." Ikuto hopped off. Amu watched him, her eyes shaking. Not that she was ever in a good mood, but Rima was in an even worse mood. She really hoped that what she sad about not being attracted to him was true.

"…Ikuto…" Amu muttered, unsure of what to do.

"Awkward silence!" Yaya yelled. Nadeshiko sweat dropped. "Hey Rima-Tan, why did you call Nade-Chan a boy? She's a girl!" Nadeshiko's face paled.

"Uh, well, I guess I should tell you two something…" Yaya and Amu looked at her. "I'm not exactly who you think I am…"

"Y-You're a boy?" Amu exclaimed. Her face was dark still, but she looked shocked.

"Precisely, but there's more to it that I'm sure you can figure out yourself. Rima-Chan can explain the rest to you." He winked at her, making her blush. "I should practice my dancing a bit. Have fun dress shopping!" Nagihiko began to walk away.

"Uh, Rima-Tan… was Nade-Tan always a boy?" Rima turned to Yaya, no emotion on her face.

"Yes. You're really slow. Nadeshiko and Nagihiko, they aren't twins. They are…"

"The same person…" Amu finished. "Oh my… W-Why hasn't he told us? Why only you Rima?"

"He didn't tell me on purpose. I found out myself. We did a purification together and purified X-Eggs. He transformed with Temari when she hatched out of her egg and we performed Queen's Waltz. No big deal." Rima muttered. She didn't want to talk about Nagihiko. She was blushing, remembering their purification. "That was when I started liking him…"

"Why… did he dress as a girl?" Amu wondered.

"I think he had to. It's a part of his family tradition or something of that sort." Rima muttered. "A-Anyway, can we look for dresses?" Amu ended up buying the dress she found, even though Ikuto had liked it.

"Yaya wants a dress! We also need to buy Rima-Tan a dress!" Yaya moaned. A small smile crept on Amu's face.

"It will be fun!" Amu said, smiling. They continued looking for dresses. After a few minutes, Yaya found a dress. It was lavender, and knee-length.

"Yaya loves it!" Yaya exclaimed. Now it was time to find Rima a dress. Rima really didn't care, as long as it wasn't really short.

"Hey Yaya, do you think this would fit Rima?" Amu wondered, showing Yaya the dress she was talking about. It was black and white striped, and also knee-length.

"No." Yaya said bluntly. "Rima-Tan needs a longer dress!"

"…Why?" Rima wondered.

"It would look better on you! Just not too long, because we don't want Rima-Tan to trip!" Rima narrowed her eyes.

"Oh my gosh… This dress is so pretty!" Amu exclaimed, picking it up. It was light green, and it nearly sparkled. It was pretty, but almost too pretty.

"No, not for Rima-Tan!" Yaya moaned. "Nothing in here is good for Rima!"

"Yaya, aren't you being a little picky?" Rima wondered. "It's just one dress I'll probably never wear again…"

"No! Rima-Tan needs a perfect dress… Ah, Rima-Tan doesn't need to shop for a dress!" Both Amu and Rima looked at Yaya, confused. "Amu-Chi, your chara can create dresses, right? Amu's eyes lit up.

"Y-You're right! Miki can create dresses!" Miki smiled, floating up. "Let's go back to my place! We can create a perfect dress for Rima!" Yaya and Rima nodded, as they followed Amu back to her house. "Wow, I still can't get over Nagihiko and Nadeshiko being the same person… It's so weird! Why wouldn't he tell me?" Amu wondered.

"Uh… Nagihiko is a boy…right? Or is he a girl?" Yaya wondered. Rima stared at Yaya.

"Yaya, didn't I already say he's a boy? I'm straight. I wouldn't…" Rima turned pink, then coughed. "A-Anyway, what's up with this dress?"

"Hm… Yaya was thinking light blue!" Yaya said. "A long dress, but above her shoes. Miki started sketching. "She needs a matching headpiece too!" Yaya peered at Miki's artwork. "That's perfect!" Miki made the sketch life size. The three girls stared at it. "Yaya loves it! Rima-Tan, what do you think?"

"It's…beautiful." She whispered, in awe. It was her size.

"Rima, you're going to look beautiful! Expect many guys to ask you to dance." Amu said, winking. Rima sighed. That was nothing new.

"Whatever…" Rima muttered. "I should get back to Sanjou-San's place. Bye." Rima began to walk to her new home, holding the dress in a bag. It was beautiful. Rima couldn't deny it. However, it was over the top. She was also holding matching silver shoes. They were pretty. The headpiece was silver as well, looking like her usual headband, but silver. She walked inside Yukari's house.

"Is that the dress?" Utau wondered, as she sat on the couch.

"Yeah. Miki made it." Rima said. She took it out of the bag.

"It's nice, but isn't it a little formal just for a little dance? I mean, no offense, but your dance isn't much of a big deal." Utau said.

"I agree… Try telling Amu and Yaya that." Rima muttered.

"Wow, what a beautiful dress! Amu's chara made that?" Yukari exclaimed.

"Yup." Rima muttered.

"I'll hang it up. When's the dance, tomorrow night?" Rima nodded again. Yukari took the dress, and went to hang it up.

"Princess Rima!" Kusu-Kusu teased. Rima glared at her chara.

"Shut up." Rima muttered. She pushed the hair to the front of her. For the rest of the day, Rima watched TV and talked to Utau and Kairi. Finally, it was nighttime.

"Good night Rima-Tan! Tomorrow we go back to school and it's the dance!"  
>"Night." Rima whispered, going to sleep.<p>

**You can view the picture of her dress on my profile. Just imagine that the size of that dress is smaller and can fit Rima. By the way, school starts tomorrow for me, so my updates will be even less common. So, please rate and review!  
><strong>


	9. Royal Mess

**Finally, chapter 9! Again, it's more of a lead for Chapter 10 and 11. I hope I didn't cease to disappoint anyone. I own nothing!**

* * *

><p>"Today! It's today!" Rima opened her eyes, facing her clown chara. She glared at Kusu-Kusu, then yawned, sitting up.<p>

"I've realized." Rima muttered. Today was the dance. Hopefully it as ready… She got changed, and walked downstairs. She got her books for school, and left for the door.

"Have fun!" Yukari called. Rima gave her a small smile before leaving. Rima started walking to school, holding her bag at the side. Suddenly, she saw a huge crowd outside of the school. Out of curiosity, Rima made her way over to the crowd, to see what was going on. There were two girls in the center with a boy. Rima would've just walked away if she didn't recognize all of them.

"Yamabuki-San, please, stop…" Tadase muttered. Saaya was kissing Tadase's cheek and Amu was glaring.

"Tadase-Kun doesn't like it!" Amu yelled, looking furious. Way to keep your cool and spicy…

"Oh, why get in the way of me and Tadase-Kun? We're a couple and we'll be dancing later today!" Saaya said.

"Tadase-Kun belongs to Saaya!" Her followers chorused. Saaya smirked. Amu glared at Saaya.

"Well, Tadase-Kun isn't exactly property! He can choose whoever he wants!" Amu yelled. She clenched her fists.

"Oh, super _cool_ Amu is looking for a fight with _ m_e? Well, I'll give you one!" Saaya went over to Amu, and punched her in the face.

"Amu!" Rima cried. Tadase looked mad now.

"Yamabuki-San. Don't you dare hurt Amu-Chan." Tadase said, walking over to where Amu was. "Are you okay, Amu-Chan?" He asked, helping her up.

"I-I'm fine…" Amu whispered. She grabbed Tadase's hand.

"Let go!" Saaya screeched, running towards Amu. Suddenly, something scratched Saaya. The familiar cat boy jumped up, and did a flip in midair, landing. Saaya watched him, in awe. "That was…so cool!" She exclaimed.

"Don't you dare hurt Amu. Or you have to pass through me." Ikuto said. He ran towards Saaya again, and scratched her some more. Saaya screamed. What did Ikuto want? Rima knew it was Amu he wanted. Was that it? He was just some cat kid who was insanely obsessed with Amu…? He hurts others, Rima included, just to get Amu?

"Stop!" Nikaidou yelled, running through the crowd. Ikuto fled as quickly as he came. Amu stared at him, her face looking astonished. "W-What happened?"

"It was Amu!" Saaya screeched. "She tried to steal my boyfriend!"

"Yamabuki-San punched Amu-Chan in the face." Tadase explained. Amu nodded, her hand against her cheek where Saaya punched her.

"Yamabuki-San, go to Amakawa-San's office." Nikaidou instructed. "Now." Saaya nodded, as she began to go to the office. Her followers began to follow. "You four, stay. You aren't her minions. Don't follow her around." The four girls looked at each other, nervously. Nikaidou walked back to his classroom.

"…We were supposed to meet at the Royal Garden, right?" Rima wondered. Kusu-Kusu nodded. Amu and Tadase saw Rima, and walked over to her. "Amu, how's your face?" She wondered, brushing her hair in front of her.

"It's fine…" Amu whispered. "I just don't know what's up with Ikuto…" Tadase gave Amu a reassuring smile.

"I hope he doesn't interfere with our dance…" Tadase whispered. "I wouldn't be surprised if he paid us a…" The three of them froze in front of the Royal Garden. Everything was knocked over. It looked almost as if a hurricane hit the Royal Garden.

"Who did that?" Amu exclaimed, shocked. There was a piece of paper in the center. The three of them ran inside, Rima picking up the paper. "What does it say?" Amu wondered.

"It says… Be careful…?" Rima read. Just two words; there was no signature, nothing else.

"The handwriting doesn't look familiar…" Tadase noted. "Where are the others?" Amu and Rima looked around.

"Amu, why don't you fix this place up. I'll find the others." Rima muttered. Amu nodded, character changing with Su and making the Royal Garden look shiny. Rima left the Royal Garden. After a few minutes of searching around, the bell rang, leaving Rima to go to her class. Where were they? Rima decided not to worry too much, and she sat in her seat. Amu and Tadase walked in shortly after, sitting beside Rima. The whole class stared at Amu.

"Why are you looking at me? Is there a problem?" Amu asked, her arms crossed. The class turned away, and class began.

Class was over after a few hours. Nikaidou let the class go a few minutes early, to let the class begin to prepare for the dance. Saaya's punishment for punching Amu was missing out on the dance. She also had her face covered in bandages from Ikuto's scratches.

"We should head to the Royal Garden to do some last minute preparations." Amu suggested. Tadase nodded.

"I hope it's perfect…" Tadase whispered. "If Ikuto-Niisan decides to pay a visit, let myself and Fujisaki-Kun deal with it. Amu-Chan, he would want to see you. I won't let him see you, if you're uncomfortable." They shared a smile. "You too Mashiro-San, of course." Tadase added.

"Hey, why is Rima-Tan an afterthought?" Rima heard Yaya wonder the words that she thought. Rima turned, surprised to see Yaya and Nagihiko both walk in. "Hi everyone!~"

"Did you guys see the Royal Garden earlier?" Nagihiko wondered.

"Yeah… Amu-Chan was the one who cleaned it." Tadase said, smiling at Amu. Amu smiled too. She held an ice pack to her face.

"Ohhh, Yaya heard about Saaya being mean Amu-Chi!" Yaya said, jumping up and down. "Saaya was being mean!~ And I heard a cat scratched her!" Yaya giggled. "She deserved it!" Rima raised her eyebrows. A cat?

"A…cat…?" Nagihiko wondered, as if reading Rima's mind. "I wasn't there to see the situation, Yaya-Chan, but I can only guess it wasn't an actual cat…" Amu and Tadase nodded.

"It was him…" Amu whispered. "W-Well, do you two know who did this to the Royal Garden? They left a note saying be careful as well… I just don't get it!"

"Do you think it was Ikuto?" Nagihiko wondered. "I mean, he seems to keep showing up at the wrong times. What does he mean by be careful though? Is Easter planning something?"

"I was thinking it was him as well…" Tadase admitted. "I just don't understand why Ikuto-NiiSan would do something like that."

"Can you really ever trust him? All he does is jump in when you don't want him." Rima grumbled. "I wouldn't be surprised if Ikuto is actually helping Easter. Well, he clearly is, since _I_ was clearly a part of some plan…" She clenched her fists, and sighed, putting her head on one of her fists. Rima felt Nagihiko's eyes on her, but she ignored him. There was a silence, when Yaya started giggling uncontrollably. Everyone looked at her, surprised.

"What if… Kukai-Tan messed up the Royal Garden?" Yaya said, laughing. "Maybe as a joke, knowing Amu-Chi could fix it!" Amu sweat dropped.

"I don't think it was Kukai." Nagihiko said. "He wouldn't do something like that. Yet… the thought _is_ funny." Nagihiko said, laughing slightly. Rima crossed her arms, not finding the humor.

"Anyway… We can worry about the Royal Garden and Ikuto-NiiSan later… for now, we should discuss the dance. We have some last minute preparations to make. Tsukasa-San said he'd handle most of it, but we need to contribute too, since the guardians are sponsoring the dance." Tadase said. Everyone nodded.

"What do we have to work on though?" Amu wondered. "We already have everything pretty much ready to go."

"We need to set up the dance, for one thing. Why don't we go do that now?" Tadase wondered. "The dance is taking place at Tsukasa-San's place. He doesn't live far away from here, so we can walk." Everyone stood up, and followed Tadase to Tsukasa's house.

"Yaya's feet hurt." Yaya moaned.

"Yaya, we've been walking for two minutes." Rima muttered, flipping her hair to the front of her. "We'll be there in like five."

"But Yaya's feet hurt!~" Yaya moaned. "Let's get candy!"

"Yaya, there's going to be candy at the dance. Don't worry." Amu reassured. Yaya's eyes lit up. "Or ice cream… I'm not really sure which one…" After about seven more minutes of walking, they made it to Tsukasa's house. To Rima's surprise, it was a three story mansion. Amu, Yaya, and Rima stared at it, wide-eyed.

"Wow, Tsukasa-Tan's house is sooooo large!" Yaya exclaimed. "It's soooo cool!"

"It is!" Amu exclaimed. "It's nothing compared to the Fujisaki Manor though." Nagihiko looked uncomfortable. "I remember I had a sleepover with Nadeshiko…" Amu paused, looking aside. "Well, it was with Nagi I suppose, since, well…" Tadase looked at her, surprised.

"You know about Fujisaki-Kun?" Tadase asked, surprised.

"Tadase-Kun, you knew too? Nagi, why didn't you tell me?" Amu asked, sighing.

"Uh, well, I couldn't…" He said. "…To be perfectly honest, I wasn't sure how to tell you…"

"Why did it come so easy to the others though?" Amu wondered, anger rising to her voice. "Everyone knew, except for me!"

"Yaya didn't know either!" Yaya pointed out.

"I needed to tell Tsukasa-San about myself when I first transferred so if I had ever decided to change who I went by during school, which I did, he could know. Hotori-San was there when I told him. I told Kukai, because he's my closest friend. Rima-Chan? She found out herself…" He smiled at Rima, making her blush. "Actually, a part of you did know Amu-Chan." Amu looked confused, when Nagihiko nodded towards Amu's fourth egg.

"Eh? _Dia_ knew, but not me?" Amu exclaimed, shocked.

"Well, yeah…" Nagihiko admitted. Amu's fourth egg rumbled slightly.

"Can we go inside?" Rima grunted. "I'm bored. This discussion serves no purpose." Everyone sweat dropped, as Tadase took out a key, and opened the door. The guardians walked inside, and checked out the house. It was three stories large. It was beautiful, and all set up for the space themed dance.

"This is where people can eat." Tadase explained. "There are dinner foods, dessert items…"

"DESSERT?" Yaya exclaimed, her eyes widening. Ignoring her, Tadase led everyone upstairs.

"On this floor, is where the main dancing takes place." Tadase explained. "Since, you can clearly see the dance floor and disco ball. The last floor is pretty much for those who want to take a break. There's a balcony on top that has a beautiful view."

"Wow, I can't wait for tonight! The dance is at five, right?" Amu wondered.

"Yes, it is." Tadase said. "It's going to be great. I can't wait to dance with you Amu-Chan." Both turned red.

"Yaya isn't dancing with anyone…" Yaya muttered, sighing. "Yaya asked Class President, but Kairi-Kun is busy…"

"I-I'm not dancing with anyone either!" Rima said quickly. She crossed her arms. She hoped it was true. Yaya raised her eyebrows, and Nagihiko narrowed his eyes.

"Sure…" Yaya said.

"Not anyone _officially_." Rima grunted.

"Well, I don't have to physically ask you, do I? Wasn't that implied when we both said we liked each other?" Nagihiko said. Rima glared at him.

"Shut up." She muttered, embarrassed.

"Yaya, Rima, why don't you guys stay at my place until the dance and we can all go together." Amu suggested.

"Sure. Yukari won't care." Rima muttered.

"Okay Amu-Chi!~" Yaya said, giggling. "Sorry boys, you clearly aren't invited!" Yaya stuck her tongue out.

"It's alright Yuiki-San…" Tadase said, sweat dropping. Nagihiko smiled.

"Kukai wanted to play a game of basketball… I told him I could fit in a game before the dance, so I can't come anyway." Nagihiko said. The five of them left Tsukasa's house, and began to walk back. Nagihiko and Tadase left for their own houses, while Amu and Yaya followed Rima to Yukari and Nikaidou's place. Rima got her dress, and they left for Amu's house. Yaya picked up her dress as well, and then they got to Amu's place.

"HI!" Rima and Yaya turned, seeing Ami behind them, waving. Rima's eyes narrowed. She wasn't exactly great with little children, mostly due to Yaya's personality making her pissed every two seconds.

"HI!" Yaya greeted back. "Ami-Chi! I'm Yaya Yuiki, Amu-Chi's buddy!" Yaya hugged Amu.

"Y-You're a friend of Onee-Chan's?" Ami exclaimed. "So… cool!" Yaya grinned, and turned to Rima. "That's Rima-Tan, Amu-Chi's friend too!" Yaya giggled.

"Onee-Chan's friends are friends of Ami's too!" Ami said, giggling too. She hugged Rima and Yaya, and laughed. Yaya laughed with Ami, and Rima grunted. Amu sweat dropped.

"Ami-Chan, we're going to go to my room…" Amu said, standing up. Rima and Yaya followed. Yaya waved good-bye to Ami.

"Onee-Chan, can I come?" Ami wondered.

"We need to get ready for the dance. Look, sorry Ami-Chan, I'll play with you later." Amu reassured, leading the others to her room. Ami pouted, but let them go.

"The dance is soon!~" Yaya exclaimed, giggling. "We should change into the dresses!" Yaya flopped down on Amu's bed. "Ami-Chi, your room is messy."

"W-What? Hey!" Amu exclaimed. The girls changed into their dresses. Amu's blue dress was below her knees. It was dark blue, and Amu wore a matching headpiece. Yaya's dress was lavender, and wavy. It had tons of ruffles, and it stopped slightly above her feet. Rima put her light blue dress on. Like the previous day, it looked gorgeous on Rima. Yaya and Amu stared at her in awe.

"It's still beautiful Rima-Tan!" Yaya exclaimed.

"…Thanks." Rima muttered. She looked in a mirror. Utau was right; it was too formal… She sighed. There was nothing she could change about that.

"You really do look amazing!" Amu exclaimed. Rima smiled softly. The three of them went downstairs.

"You girls look beautiful!" Amu's mom said. "Alright, I'll drive you." Amu's mom led them to the car, and they sat down. When they got to Tsukasa's house, she let them off. "Have fun!" she said, driving off. There were many people outside the house, socializing with their friends, going inside, etc.

"I feel almost nervous…" Amu admitted. "I hope Tadase will like it."

"Tadase will like anything you put on." Rima muttered. "It doesn't take much for you to impress him." Amu blushed. The three girls walked inside the house. The noise in the room, minus the music, suddenly stopped. There were many guys, Rima recognized as her own fan boys, who were staring at her. Rima felt uncomfortable. She should've expected it. She shouldn't have worn this dress. She shouldn't have come to this dance. She clenched her fists.

"M-Mashiro-Sama?" The fan boys exclaimed, surrounding her. Rima was breathing slowly. She wasn't ready for something big like this. It was over-whelming. "YOU LOOK SO HOT!" They exclaimed. Speaking of hot, hot tears formed in her eyes.

"That's nice." Rima muttered. She didn't want to be here at all. Boys were surrounding her, music was playing loudly, everything was just loud, and not what she was expecting.

"Dance with me!" She heard someone scream. She wasn't unsure it was to her or not. She heard lots of noise. It was stressful. She wanted to leave, right now. Without thinking, Rima felt herself push through the crowd of boys surrounding her. She felt eyes on her, but she ignored them, as she kept running upstairs.

"Mashiro-San?" She heard faintly from Tadase. She tripped on someone's foot, falling. She wanted to cry. She stood up, and ran up to the balcony, where she was alone. She was panting, as she put her hands on the end of the balcony.

"I can't deal with this." Rima whispered. "All of this stress… I'm not ready for people to start treating me like I'm some sort of…goddess…"

"Rima…" Kusu-Kusu started. She stopped. "Where's your shoe?" She wondered.

"I don't really care!" Rima cried, tears running down her cheeks. "I just want to leave this dance… I want to go home now! And I mean _real_ home, not Sanjou-San's house. I want my house, I want my parents to love each other, and I want everything how it was a year ago! I wish, I was never kidnapped!" She was crying uncontrollably.

"Don't worry!" Kusu-Kusu reassured, but it wasn't working.

"Hey, you dropped your shoe."

**The ending is sudden, I know. However, I'm sure some of you will get where I amn going with the fallen shoe. The person saying it? You can also figure out, I'm sure. Please review! My updates will be less often, even though they are already not too often, thanks to school. Sorry, but I have to prioritize. Do not worry readers, for this story is my top priority to all of my others :D. **


	10. A Cinderella Moment

**So, it's the next chapter! I think this chapter came out really good! I own nothing, and enjoy!**

_"Hey, you dropped your shoe."_

Rima turned suddenly, recognizing that voice. She would know that voice from anywhere in the world. Even if it was far away, Rima would always hear that voice from anywhere…

"What do you want?" Rima snapped at him, taking the shoe, and putting it on her foot quickly.

"I came to give you your shoe." He whispered an innocent smile on his face. Rima narrowed her eyes. He smiled, and walked beside her, placing his elbows on the edge of the balcony. "I figured you might want some company, that's all."

"Well, I don't." Rima snapped. The anger in her voice was gone. She was close to tears. She didn't want to cry, not with him right there. She felt his eyes on her, and she knew he saw her tears.

"I know you'd rather be alone, especially without me." Nagihiko said. "However, I don't have much more to do. Amu and Tadase are dancing. Yaya's with the dessert table. So, you're really all I've got right now…" Rima sighed.

"I wish I could make a wish on a shooting star…" Rima whispered, watching the sky. "I wish I could just grant one wish. One wish to make everything return to normal…" She was talking more to herself than Nagihiko. "I wish I could undo the past somehow. Maybe this situation has taught me well… Maybe it let me realize that making wishes is pointless. That whatever I wish for, whether it's a shooting star or throwing coins into fountains, won't come true." Tears were falling down her face. "All I have wished… It only becomes worse!" Nagihiko was silent for a few minutes.

"Perhaps… your wish isn't what your truly want." Rima looked at him.

"My parents loving each other again is all I want!" Rima snapped. "You don't understand a thing about me!"

"I agree, at one point I didn't understand you. I can usually read people like a book, however, you were different. I couldn't understand you. However, you are actually easy to figure out. Where do you think Kusu-Kusu came from? Oh wait, your _wish_ to make people laugh." Rima thought for a moment.

"…That was…different." Rima muttered.

"No, not really. You only want people to smile. That's what you want your parents to do, right? So, your dream is coming true, in a distant way." Nagihiko smiled. "I know it's hard with your parents, but… if they get a divorce, it will be easier." Rima's eyes flashed. Her parents getting a divorce? That was the _opposite_ of what she wanted! She was mad at him. He understood her? That was crap!

"I don't want them to get divorced!" Rima snapped, angrily. "That's what I don't want to happen! You don't understand me!"

"Rima-Chan. If your parents get separated, you can still survive with one, and not deal with their fighting. You can get time alone with each of them separately. You can make them both smile separately." Rima paused. He was right, as usual. Each could love her, and they don't have to fight. They could find true love… with someone else…

"I don't want to forgive my father." Rima whispered, remembering as he hit her. She looked at the sky again. "Why me?" Nagihiko didn't say anything. Rima sighed.

"Relax a little. Why don't we go back inside? Would you like to dance, with me?" Nagihiko asked. Rima could sense a slight hesitation in his voice that made her smile slightly. He wasn't like everyone else. All of her fan-boys were obsessing over her dress. Nagihiko didn't even make a remark about how beautiful she looked, though she assumed he thought that. She didn't like dancing, but maybe he was right; she should relax.

"…Fine." Rima grumbled. Nagihiko had a small smile on his face. Temari looked even more excited than him. They walked downstairs, and went to the dance floor. Rima felt the eyes of her fan-boys on her and Nagihiko. Nagihiko took her hand, and began to dance. Rima had no idea how to dance, so she let Nagihiko control her. She was blushing madly.

"Awwww, they're so cute!" Rima heard Yaya exclaim. Rima kept a mental note to kill her later. However, that didn't matter right now. She was dancing with Nagihiko. It was extremely lucky that he was an expert dancer and had been doing it his whole life. The music was a gently melody, that Rima didn't recognize. She wasn't so sure she liked dancing; besides the feeling of awkwardness and embarrassment with Nagihiko, it was just…different. Out of the corner of her eye, Rima saw Amu and Tadase dancing. They were sweet, considering neither knew how to dance. Rima wondered how her and Nagihiko looked. Not only that one was dancing and the other wasn't, but Nagihiko was really tall, and Rima? Not so much…

"Well, how do you like dancing?" Nagihiko whispered. Rima didn't know what to say.

"It's…different." She whispered. "I've never done anything like it before…"

"Yeah, I suppose it is for someone who really has no experience." Nagihiko said. "Don't worry, you'll catch on as the night progresses."

"I'm not really too worried." Rima muttered. Her face was red. She let him guide her through the dance floor, controlling her movements. She felt a lot of eyes on them, but she ignored it. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion. Where did that come from? Rima didn't expect it at all. One minute, she was having a romantic dance with Nagihiko, and the next, there's an explosion. Many people screamed, and clutched their dates. Rima, however, did not grab Nagihiko.

"…What was that?" Amu wondered. Suddenly, there was a soft, gentle melody, and suddenly, X-Eggs were floating out of the other students, except for the guardians.

"Easter…" Tadase whispered, anger in his eyes. "Why now, why not later?"

"It makes perfect sense." Nagihiko whispered. "It's an ideal spot; having a bunch of kids in one spot."

"But they know we go to Seiyo Academy!" Rima pointed out. "Why would they make X-Eggs right in front of us?"

"Remember last time? They _wanted_ us to purify them." Nagihiko reminded her. "I thought their plan changed, considering the anti-purify X-Eggs, but apparently…" Suddenly, there was a red beam being shot at them. The guardians dodged in time, but just barely.

"Why did that beam look familiar?" Amu exclaimed. "It looked a lot like…"

"Hello Amu." All five pairs of eyes looked up to see a familiar face. The X-Eggs floated up, surrounding her. She was transformed with Il and held her trident.

"U-Utau-Chi? What are you doing here?" Yaya exclaimed.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm with Easter." Utau said. No way… Utau's with Easter? Rima was shocked by that. Since Utau hated Easter so much after the prior experience, Rima would've never expected that a traitor would be her. Especially when Rima trusted her… Rima had told her everything about her life. Utau had allowed her to stay at her house. Rima didn't expect Utau to ever betray them. Rima, however, was not as close with Utau as Amu and Tadase were. Even Yaya had developed a close bond, considering they were both younger sister types.

"Utau…Why would you do this to us? I thought you were helping us wipe them out!" Amu exclaimed, tears in her eyes. "Why would you suddenly like the group that detests your father?"

"I've changed." Utau whispered coldly. Her face was stoic. "Nightmare Lorelei!" Utau held her triton, and shot it at them.

"My own heart, unlock!" Amu yelled. The rest of them joined in. They all transformed into their transformations. Rima realized she hadn't transformed with Kusu-Kusu in so long… She missed the feeling when she was Clown Drop. She began to juggle some pins.

"Juggling Party!" Rima said, throwing the juggling pins at Utau. It seemed useless, that some weak pins would be thrown at Utau, but Rima just wanted to try something. The last time she transformed had been with Yoru…

"Amu-Chan, purify the X-Eggs! The rest of us will focus on Utau-Chan!" Tadase instructed. Amu nodded, facing the X-Eggs.

"Nightmare Lorelei!" Utau shouted. It was aimed towards Amu.

"Amu-Chan!" Tadase shouted. "H-Holy Crown!" He yelled, protecting her. Amu smiled at Tadase. Utau scowled.

"Tadase, now!" Amu yelled. "Platinum heart!" They purified the X-Eggs together.

"Adorable." Rima muttered sarcastically. "Let's stop Utau now!"

"Utau-Chi… Please come back!" Yaya moaned. Utau didn't say anything. "Go! Go! Little Duckies!" Yaya shot ducks at Utau.

"Throwing ducks and pins at me? Not too threatening!" Utau muttered, blocking it with her trident.

"Hey guys, I sense X-Eggs, so I came to help!" They heard someone yell.

"Oh no, Kukai…" Nagihiko whispered. Rima didn't get it, when she realized who they were fighting…

"I'm here! Oh, hey Utau, you came to help as well! Yay, we can work together!" Kukai said, grinning. Everyone didn't know what to say.

"You always were a little slow." Utau whispered. Kukai looked confused. "Nightmare Lorelei!" She yelled, knocking him out. Utau looked slightly guilty, making Rima wonder if there was something more to her sudden betrayal.

"Souma-Kun!" Tadase cried. He looked at Utau. "Utau-Chan, what's gotten into to you? You love Souma-Kun! Why did you…knock him out?"

"Things change, you know." Utau muttered. She fled the dance. Everyone looked at her direction, frightened.

"Oh no…" Amu whispered.

"Uh…Why is Souma-Sempai here, and unconscious?" A girl wondered. The guardians turned quickly, to notice the students awake.

"We're sorry to say, the dance is over." Tadase said, an innocent fake smile on his face. He looked at Nagihiko.

"We're having technical difficulty." Nagihiko lied. "You see, the music isn't working. The dance is going to end soon anyway, so we might as well end it early. I hope everyone enjoyed their time at the dance!"

"Why do I only remember some stuff…?" Someone muttered. "Whatever; time flies when you have fun!" The other students left.

"Wow." Amu whispered. "Why would Utau betray us like that…?"

"I don't know… She had to have a reason." Tadase whispered. "Didn't you see the look in her eyes when she knocked Souma-Kun out? She still cares for him."

"There's something suspicious about it…" Nagihiko whispered. "Maybe we should clean up, since this is Amakawa-San's house." He looked at Amu.

"Well… It saves time, doesn't it?" Amu looked at Su.

"Character change! Chips, syrup, whipped cream!" She said, twirling. Amu character changed, cleaning up the place in the matter of seconds.

"Um…Tadase-Tan?" Yaya wondered.

"Yes Yuiki-San?" Tadase wondered.

"Can Yaya have some brownies to keep?" Yaya wondered. Tadase nodded slowly. Yaya grinned, taking all of the brownies, plus the cookies, plus the chocolate. Rima sweat dropped. She didn't know what to do to help. Suddenly, they heard a car honking.

"I'll check who it is." Rima volunteered, going towards the car. She walked towards the car, to see Sanjou-San waiting in the car. The window was opened in the car.

"Rima, what happened here?" Sanjou-San wondered. Rima explained what happened with Utau. Sanjou-San's eyes widened.

"W-What? Utau… no way…" Sanjou-San whispered in disbelief. "W-Why would she do that?"

"I don't…" Rima's thought was interrupted by Amu making her way towards them. "Sanjou-San…" Sanjou-San looked sad.

"Hello Amu… Where did she go?" Sanjou-San asked.

"I don't know." Amu admitted. "I don't really know what to think. I just don't understand why she'd do it!"

"She had to have a reason…" Rima thought out loud. "People don't do things without a reason…" Rima thought for a moment, when suddenly, Ikuto came towards them. Amu crossed her arms.

"What do you want?" Amu wondered. "Can you just stop…"

"I need to say something quick." Ikuto hissed. "It's about my sister." Amu looked at him. "She doesn't…" A baseball bat struck Ikuto's head, forcing him to fall unconscious. Rima jumped back, not expecting it. She didn't make any effort to help Ikuto.

"Ikuto!" Amu cried. A hooded figure grabbed him, and ran off. "Hey, wait!" Amu called. "Where do you think you're going?" The hooded figure ignored her. Rima was almost positive the hooded figure was Utau.

"So…What now?" Rima wondered. It was an honest question. The dance was over. What were they going to do now? Were they going to try to find Ikuto or Utau? She looked at Amu.

"…I don't know what's up with Utau…" Sanjou-San whispered. "I hope she comes through, especially days before the wedding. Utau was supposed to be a bridesmaid…" Rima and Amu stared at Sanjou-San.

"Wedding?" They said together.

"Oh…yeah, Yuu and I forgot to mention, we're getting married this Sunday!" Rima and Amu gaped at her.

"That would've been important to mention!" Rima said.

"Well… it was a fast preparation, and it isn't a huge wedding. So, I hope you guys are available." Sanjou-San said. "You two, along with Yaya, can be bridesmaids!"

"Rima's right… that probably should've been mentioned before…" Amu said. "We don't have dresses ready!"

"Can't your chara make dresses?" Sanjou-San pointed out. Amu nodded. "Whatever. My wedding isn't relevant right now. I want Utau to go so badly…" Tears were in Sanjou-San's eyes.

"Sanjou-San, we know that Utau-Chan had a reason for doing this. She wouldn't betray us, especially Souma-Kun, like that." Amu and Rima looked up and saw Tadase walk over. "We just need to talk to her, that's all…"

"I love agreeing with you normally, but you're wrong." Kukai said, following. He was conscious now, but he didn't look so great. Nagihiko and Yaya were there as well. "Hello? She was working with Easter! She knocked me out cold! She…she…" Kukai put his hand on his head, and cringed in pain. "Sorry…head hurts."

"Kukai-Tan, what happened to your catchphrase 'think positively?" Yaya wondered. "C'mon Kukai-Tan! You always think positively! It's all going to be good! Utau-Chi just was out of it, that's all! Right guys?" Everyone was silent. "Come on, back me up here!"

"Yaya. Kukai's right… She is clearly evil." Rima muttered. "We can't trust her." Yaya opened her mouth, then closed it quickly. "She was probably never trustworthy in the first place. She's just an idiot. She is a traitor and cannot be trusted, just like her…"

"Mashiro-San!" Tadase warned. Rima paused, looking around. Kukai looked depressed and Yaya was holding his arm, close to tears. She crossed her arms, not apologizing. No one said anything, considering it was usually Yaya and Kukai who started talking during awkward situations. Instead, it was Nagihiko who broke the ice.

"…None the less, we can't just stand around. Shouldn't we head home, for now?" Nagihiko wondered.

"Wait…What about Ikuto?" Amu exclaimed, looking at Rima. "Sanjou-San, could we see if we could find him?" Sanjou-San nodded, opening her doors to let them in. Amu sat in the front seat, and the others squeezed in the back. Amu explained what happened with Ikuto and the person grabbing him. Sanjou-San started driving.

"Where did they go?" She wondered.

"It was that way!" Amu remembered, pointing. Sanjou-San nodded, and started driving. She was driving way above the speed limit. Rima wasn't too scared, considering she was used to her parents driving that fast. Her parents… Rima missed them… She missed when they were together, and not only that, but just them. She thought about what Nagihiko had said about how it might be easier if they got a divorce. Was he… right? All Rima had ever wanted was her parents to love each other, but is there really no hope?

"I don't see them." Sanjou-San muttered. "Why don't we search tomorrow? Let me drop you guys home." She dropped everyone at their houses, until it was just her and Rima. There was silence for a while. "…Well, before Utau came, how was the dance?" She wondered.

"…Fine…I guess…" Rima muttered.

"That's good." Sanjou-San said. They were silent until they arrived at the house. Rima followed Sanjou-San inside.

"How was the dance? I hope Ace realizes how sorry I am I couldn't make it…" Kairi said. Rima didn't say anything, leaving to change out of the dress. Kairi blinked after her, and Rima quietly heard Sanjou-San explain the situation with Utau. Rima went to her room.

"Besides the drama with Utau, it was so much fun!" Kusu-Kusu exclaimed, as she floated around. "You have to admit, you _loved_ dancing with Nagi!~" Rima turned pink.

"Uh… No." Rima muttered. "I hated dancing." Kusu-Kusu raised an eyebrow, as Rima sighed, falling back onto her bed. "I wish life was so much simpler…"

"Well, wouldn't it be boring if it was simple?" Kusu-Kusu pointed out.

"Boring is better than terrible." Rima muttered. "I guess I can't go back now…" Rima didn't know if she meant back in time when things were good or back to her parents. "I could've been a kind girl. I could've been a girl who was like everyone else; into boys, willing to have fun…"

"It's better to be different, you know!" Kusu-Kusu said, smiling. "You don't want to be like everyone else, right?" Rima smiled. Rima loved smiling. She never realized it, until this moment, lying on her bed.

"Maybe…" A particular picture that Rima had just unpacked from her old house caught her attention. It was a picture of just the three girls; Amu, Yaya, and her. Rima was in the middle, having a small smile on her face. Yaya was leaning on her left shoulder, a mischievous grin on her face. Amu was on the other side, winking. Rima remembered that picture. Kukai had brought a camera, wanting to take pictures of his friends for a school project. He printed out enough copies so everyone could keep the pictures. Rima yawned. "I'm going to head to sleep," She whispered, despite the fact it was nine thirty. "Night."

"Good night Rima! Sleep tight!" Kusu-Kusu said.

**I hope you liked it! I have a little announcement to make. I love this story...but it has to end soon. I'll say like five or so more chapters. I'll give you a heads up later to how many more exactly.**


	11. For good measure

**Chapter 11 is up! I think this chapter is interesting. I ****apologize in advance for the sadness, but it was necessary. You'll see ;). I own nothing, and enjoy!**

That night, Rima slept surprisingly well, despite the previous night's events. She didn't have a dream she remembered. She woke up that morning, yawning. She looked at the clock. It was eight o'clock. Perfect. Rima needed to get up at eight so she could make the guardian meeting, and school began at nine. She began to get dressed, and brush her teeth. Rima passed Utau's room, which was obviously empty. Rima wondered where Utau was staying… Rima walked downstairs. On her way out the door, she passed Nikaidou and Yukari eating breakfast in silence. She continued her way out the door, and started to walk to school.

"Things are different, you know…" Rima whispered out loud.

"What do you mean?" Kusu-Kusu wondered. "Haven't you realized that already?"

"Yeah, but…" Rima sighed. "I've always thought of my changes as negative. Yeah, the majority of them _are_ negative, but is everything really bad? There are some good things…" Kusu-Kusu had a wide grin on her face.

"Oh Rima; you don't realize how long I wanted you to realize that!" Kusu-Kusu exclaimed. "Of course things are good! Like, Nagi…" Rima's face turned red.

"Well… I wasn't really thinking of him, but…" Rima sighed. "I meant more about my parental situation; what Nagi said yesterday. Maybe it is better for me that I'm with Sanjou-San and Nikaidou-Sensei. My parents were annoying anyway… Perhaps it's for the best." Rima arrived at the school. She made her way to the Royal Garden, to find a note on the front door. It read: _I have to do something before school starts today. Come after school. –Tadase_. Rima sighed. Now what?

"Well, school's going to start soon! Might as well get to class early!" Kusu-Kusu suggested.

"Kusu-Kusu, we're twenty minutes early." Rima pointed out. "We'll have to figure something better to conserve our time. Like…" Suddenly, a dog running by caught Rima's attention. Normally, Rima didn't care about animals at all, but she wondered why a dog was on school property.

"Benny, come back!" A familiar voice wailed. Benny? Why was Yaya chasing a dog?

"Yaya?" Rima questioned. Yaya paused, and looked back, grinning at Rima.

"Rima-Tan! Yaya's chasing a dog that belongs to her friend; can you help her catch him?" Rima nodded, following Yaya to chasing the dog.

"Why are you chasing the dog anyway?" Rima wondered. "Why did your friend make you watch it?"

"Because she needed to get something for Benny!" Yaya moaned. "Come back, Benny-San!" Rima sweat dropped. Why would any of Yaya's friends entrust Yaya with taking care of anything, let alone a dog?

"Oh…kay…" Rima muttered. She was getting bored of chasing the dog. Finally, Yaya caught up to him, and grabbed his leash. "It's about time…" Yaya grinned.

"That never happened!" Yaya said, grinning innocently. Rima stared at Yaya with a stoic expression. "Hey Rima-Tan, do you know why Tadase-Tan cancelled the meeting?"

"No, I was wondering the same thing." Rima agreed. "I wonder what Tadase was doing…"

"Hey guys." Rima and Yaya turned, seeing Amu. She smiled, walking over to them. "What's up with the dog?" Yaya explained she was watching it. "Interesting…" Rima could tell Amu had the same thought as her.

"Ah, thanks Yaya-Chan!" A girl exclaimed, getting the dog back. Yaya grinned, winking at Rima. The girl left.

"Who was that?" Rima wondered.

"That's Yaya's friend, Tetsu!" Yaya said, grinning. Rima blinked.

"Who's Tetsu? Is she new?" Rima wondered.

"No, she's always been there, even before you came!" Yaya said. Rima shrugged it off. "Hey, Amu-Chi might know!" Amu looked at Yaya, confused. "What is Tadase-Tan doing that he had to blow us off?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I don't know…" Amu admitted. "I'll ask him during class. I'm sure he just got busy at the last minute; nothing big…" Yaya nodded.

"Why does no one know about Tadase-Tan?" Yaya complained. "Yaya's super curious!"

"Well, I suppose you have to stay patient, if that's physically possible for you." Rima muttered quietly. She crossed her arms. "Class will probably start soon. Amu, let's go." Amu nodded, following Rima.

"H-Hey! You guys can't ditch Yaya!" Yaya moaned. "Wait for Yaya!" Rima smirked.

"Well, you're not in our class. We need to get to class." Rima said, specifically to annoy Yaya.

"But…we can walk together, right?" Yaya begged.

"No."

"Yes." Rima and Amu said at the same time. Yaya grinned at Amu, hugging her tightly. Rima sighed in defeat.

"Hey guys." Rima didn't need to look up to see Nagihiko.

"NAGI-TAN!" Yaya yelled, hugging him tightly. Rima knew that there was 0% romance in that, but she still felt a sting of envy. Ugh, why did that need to happen?

"Hi Yaya-Chan…" Nagihiko said, trying to pry out Yaya's grip. "Does any of you guys know what's up with Hotori-San?" Amu and Rima both looked at Yaya.

"Omigosh, Yaya has been trying to figure that out!" Yaya moaned. "Yaya's so curious!"

"Does it really matter?" Rima wondered. "I'm sure he's fine. It's probably irrelevant."

"Well, nonetheless, we should get to class!" Amu said.

"Yeah Amu-Chi! Let's walk ahead!" Rima opened her mouth to protest, but closed it quickly, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop them.

"So… how did you sleep?" Nagihiko asked to make conversation.

"Fine." Rima snapped. She clenched her fists. She pretty much promised herself she wouldn't be mean to him a few days ago. "So, um, do you have anything going on today?" Rima asked.

"No… are you trying to ask me on a date?" Nagihiko said, one of his eyebrows raised Rima glared at him.

"Of course not! I was doing what you were doing; I was making conversation!" Rima said, blushing.

"Okay." Nagihiko said, smirking. Rima glared at him. "Hey, besides all that happened yesterday at the dance, I really enjoyed dancing with you. Lately, I've been hard on myself and doubted by dancing. When I danced with you, I really felt the feeling I usually get from dancing. Thanks for dancing with me."

"Whatever." Rima grunted. The school bell rang.

"See you later Rima-Chan." And just like that, Nagihiko kissed her on her lips, taking Rima by complete surprise. She kissed him back. They stayed like that for a few seconds. They broke up, both red-faced. "Think of that as a little payback." Like that, Nagihiko walked away. Rima felt she was floating almost. She was in shock. That's when she realized there was many people looking at her.

"W-What are you staring at?" Rima barked at the people who stared at her. "Well, _I_ don't want to be late to class. Get out of my way!" Rima ran past, running to her class. When she walked inside, there was barely anyone there.

"Mashiro-San, do you know where the rest of the class is?" Nikaidou wondered. Rima opened her mouth, when the rest of the class, with the exception of Tadase, walked in. Nikaidou smiled. "Alright, let's begin." Rima looked at Amu, and they both were thinking the same thing; where was Tadase?

* * *

><p><em>Kiyona Hotori loving wife, mother, friend, and grandmother.<em> Tadase read it over and over, making the reality even truer. His grandmother was really gone. Staring at the gravestone was all Tadase could do. He didn't think it would happen for at least a few years. Yeah, his grandmother was sick. However, she was just beginning to get better. She was remembering things. She was beginning to become her old self. However, this gravestone represented how she never would. Tears were in Tadase's eyes. Kiseki didn't know what to do or say to make Tadase happier. There were flowers all over the gravestone. Out of the corner of his eye, Tadase saw someone place more flowers on the gravestone. Who it was, made Tadase look up at him.

"What are you doing here?" Tadase whispered.

"I knew her too." Ikuto whispered. Having Ikuto with him made Tadase feel slightly better. Despite all that happened with Rima, Ikuto still cared to show up. It made Tadase feel like he had his brother that he never had back. "Tadase, you should leave. You can visit her later."

"Not yet. I need some time alone with her." Tadase whispered.

"You've just had hours of that. Your parents didn't have the heart to tell you that it's time to go. Look, you'll feel better when you're away from her."

"You don't understand!" Tadase whispered, suddenly feeling younger. "My grandma meant the world to me. She's gone… I don't have anyone like her anymore…" Tadase was crying now.

"Tadase…" Ikuto sighed. "I know it's hard, but you have to go. It will take a while to think, but you have to go. Didn't you promise the guardians you would meet them after?"

"They don't really matter…" Tadase whispered, sighing. "I think I should quit."

"Don't let your grandma's death screw up your life." Ikuto said. "When my father disappeared, I devoted my whole entire life to finding him, even though he's probably dead. Don't become me. You'll regret it. You still have things to live for, like…" Ikuto's eyes darkened. "Amu." Tadase looked at Ikuto, shocked. "After I broke her friend's heart, I doubt she'll ever forgive me. Besides, I know you'll take good care of her." Tadase stared at him.

"Ikuto-Niisan…" Tadase hugged him. "I never thought…"

"I know." Ikuto snapped. "Look, let's go." Tadase nodded following Ikuto out of the cemetery. Meanwhile, a hooded figure whose blonde hair showed a little bit had just placed flowers on the gravestone…

School was over. Rima stood up, and left the classroom. She started walking quickly, so she wouldn't have to talk to any of the fan-boys.

"Mashiro-San, wait up please!" Rima paused, unhappy. She turned and saw Kirishima. Oh great… Rima once had feelings for this guy, but they were gone. Now that Rima thought back, she wondered how Nagihiko felt about Kirishima coming closer to her…

"What do you want?" Rima snapped.

"Look, I, um, I'm happy for you and Fujisaki-San."

"What about us?" Rima wondered, biting her lip.

"Well, you know…" Rima sighed.

"We aren't anything." Rima said.

"YOU AREN'T DATING HIM? YAY, GO OUT WITH ME!" Rima turned, and saw a stampede of fan-boys galloping over to her. She was surrounded. Rima immediately regretted saying that.

"Uh, well, we aren't anything…_yet_…" Rima muttered. That was sort of true…?

"Rima, we have a guardian meeting! Let's go!" Amu called. Rima nodded, using that as a chance to escape. Rima caught up to Amu and Nagihiko, who was behind her.

"YOU ARE GOING TO DIE!" The fan-boys shrieked at Nagihiko. They all glared at him.

"A death threat?" Nagihiko wondered. "That could be serious, you know. Just because I might be dating 'the love of your lives,' doesn't mean you need to kill me…" Nagihiko led Amu and Rima to the Royal Garden. Yaya was already there when they walked inside.

"Wow, you guys are slow!" Yaya complained. "Where were you?"

"We got caught up with some of my stupid fan-boys." Rima grunted.

"What did they want?" Yaya wondered. Rima stared at Yaya, as if she was stupid. Yaya stared back, puzzled.

"I didn't really get to hear what they were talking about; just some death threat towards Nagi…?" Amu said.

"Well… I-It really doesn't matter." Nagihiko said quickly. "Where's Hotori-San?" Everyone went silent.

"He _did_ say he was coming after school…" Amu said. "Oh no, I hope he's okay!" There was a panicked expression on her face.

"I'm sure he's fine Amu." Rima muttered, some uncertainty on her face.

"Well… I suppose we have to make-do, since Hotori-San either isn't coming or is late." Nagihiko said. No one said anything.

"Hey… While we wait for Tadase-Tan, can we get candy?" Yaya exclaimed giddily. Rima frowned at Yaya, and shook her head. "Why not?" Yaya moaned.

"I'm sorry I'm late." All eyes peered up at Tadase, as he walked inside.

"Tadase-Kun! Are you okay?" Amu exclaimed.

"Not really… My grandma just passed away." Tadase admitted.

"I'm sorry." Nagihiko whispered. Rima nodded, uncomfortable.

"Thanks… However, I have realized something. I can't give up on you guys. We're a team. That's why I have thought, before we graduate, we need to do something, something that will impact the guardians in the future; something that will mark us as 'us." Tadase said.

"Yeah!" Yaya agreed. "What should we do?"

"Well… I need some help." Tadase admitted.

"We need to do something that will help the school." Amu said, thinking. "Maybe we should add something to the scenery?"

"That will be forgotten very quickly in the future." Nagihiko pointed out. "I believe, even though most of the school will never know, we've done more than any guardians have ever done before. Being in other groups of guardians has helped me realize that."

"Yeah, but we need something everyone will notice." Tadase said. "Why don't we call it a day, and think at home. Tomorrow morning, we'll meet again and show our ideas." Everyone nodded, and left the Royal Garden.

"OHMIGOSH, WE SHOULD HAVE A PARTY!" Yaya exclaimed.

"Why?" Rima wondered.

"Just for fun!" What do you guys say?" Yaya wondered.

"Yuiki-San… I'm not really in the mood…" Tadase whispered. Amu took his hand, and squeezed it.

"I know it hurts, but she wouldn't want you to act this way." Amu whispered.

"I know… If it wasn't for…" Tadase stopped. Everyone looked at him. "If it wasn't for Ikuto-NiiSan, I don't know what I would do." Amu looked astonished.

"Ikuto… he helped you?" Amu exclaimed.

"Ikuto… He's one of the most compassionate people I know." Tadase whispered. "Even though he hides it, he really is. He's a great person." Amu was blushing. Rima narrowed her eyes. Maybe all of the others still loved him, but Rima refused to.

"Well, speak for yourself." Rima grunted. "I'll be on my way. See you tomorrow." Rima walked away.

"Maybe we should give him another chance…" Kusu-Kusu said.

"Kusu-Kusu, he broke my heart! He refused to apologize for it, and he simply crushed it like a soda can!" Rima snapped angrily. "I don't care if everyone else forgives him, but I won't!" Hot tears formed in Rima's eyes. "Maybe I'm over-reacting, but…"

"No Rima, I understand." Kusu-Kusu whispered, a smile on her face. They arrived in front of Yukari's house, and walked inside.

"I want to confront her and tell her…" Yukari looked up as Rima walked in. "Oh Rima, perfect timing! Yuu and I were just talking about Utau. Do you think we should just confront her?"

"Uh… Sure?" Rima wondered. Yukari grinned.

"It's dangerous though! We should talk to all of the guardians." Nikaidou said. "Or Kukai. He'll know, since he loves her."

"I'm going to go to bed." Rima muttered, retreating to her room. When she got changed and fell on her bed, she fell to sleep right away.

**Keep in mind, that when Ikuto mentioned how Amu was perfect for Tadase, that doesn't necessarily mean that this story will end in Tadamu… Enough said. Rate and Review, please! **


	12. The Jewel

**Let me start off with the bad news. This story officially will have two more chapters after this one. I'm sorry, but it needs a proper ending, and not just a random story that goes on forever off of crappy ideas. Anyway, I own nothing, and enjoy!**

_Soft footsteps walked in the birth of the new morning. Mr. Toshiro was mowing his lawn. He looked up, noticing a presence in front of him. "Can I help you?" He asked the hooded figure. _

_ "It's been a while, Toshiro-San." The voice whispered. Toshiro looked at the hooded figure curiously. They pulled off their hood, revealing a face of a familiar girl. _

_ "T-Tsukiyomi Utau?" He exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" _

_ "I'm surprised you remember who I am…" Utau muttered. _

_ "I could never forget you." He whispered. "You have the same eyes as your father, a man who helped me discover who I am…" He smiled at Utau. "How can I help you, Tsukiyomi-San?"_

_ "Before my father left, he left you with something." Utau said. "He entrusted you with something very important." Toshiro nodded. "I seek that very treasure he gave you." _

_ "Why is that?" Toshiro wondered._

_ "I need to take down an organization that detested my father." Utau explained. "I need to free someone important to me; my brother." Toshiro smiled._

_ "Ah, Tsukiyomi Ikuto? I remember him." Toshiro exclaimed. "Your father always did say it would be used for an important cause. Hold on, let me find it… you can come in." Utau nodded, following him inside. She sat at one of the chairs. _

_ "While I find it, would you like a drink? Care for some coffee or tea?" _

_ "I'm good." Utau replied. Toshiro smiled, and left to find the treasure. _

_ "What are you doing?" Il wondered. Utau ignored her chara. Toshiro came back, holding the small box carefully._

_ "Be careful…" Toshiro whispered. Utau took the box and left. She started walking to Yukari's house. She stopped outside, waiting patiently. _

_ "Utau, what are you-" Utau smiled carefully at El. _

_ "Wait and see." She muttered. Utau knocked on the door. Yukari got the door, and nearly started screaming._

* * *

><p>The alarm began to beep loudly. Rima wanted it to stop. She opened her eyes, and pressed the snooze button. Kusu-Kusu peeked her eyes out of the egg.<p>

"Good morning Rima!" Kusu-Kusu said happily. Rima sighed, and got changed and showered. She walked downstairs, and saw Nikaidou, Yukari, and…?

"Hello Mashiro-San." Nikaidou greeted.

"What's she doing here?" Rima exclaimed, looking at Utau. Utau looked at Rima.

"Utau-Chan never betrayed us!" Yukari said happily. "She was only trying to save Ikuto-San!"

"Why didn't you tell us that in the first place?" Rima wondered, her eyebrows raised. She sat beside across from Utau.

"I thought I needed to save Ikuto myself." Utau muttered. "However, I was mistaken. I need to go to your guardian meeting. You see, I have a plan. It involves you, as a matter of fact." Rima stared at Utau.

"What makes you think I want to save that idiot?" Rima muttered. Utau sighed.

"I understand why you're annoyed at him." Utau muttered. "However, we aren't only going to save Ikuto, but we're going to stop Easter. We'll purify those X-Eggs you created." Rima looked at Utau.

"I have to purify those X-Eggs…" Rima whispered.

"Calm down. You will." Utau said. "Well, let's go to the guardian meeting." Rima nodded, surprised, as she followed Utau out of the door. Utau looked like she was playing with something in her pocket.

"Do the others know about you…not being a traitor?" Rima wondered.

"Not yet." Utau admitted. "They will though."

"Why did you attack us?" Rima wondered.

"Easter was going to crash your dance. However, my little warning given to you in the Royal Garden wasn't enough to warn you, so I had to come myself to stop Easter." Utau explained.

"So, it was _you_ who ruined our Royal Garden?" Rima exclaimed.

"Well, I happened to be fighting X-Eggs inside your Royal Garden…" Utau explained. "So, naturally, your Royal Garden was destroyed. Realizing that X-Eggs attacking the Royal Garden and your dance that day weren't a coincidence, I decided to give you a warning." Rima looked at Utau, surprised. They got to the Royal Garden, the last two arriving. When they walked inside, the other four stared at Utau in shock.

"What are…?" Amu started. Utau explained before Amu could finish her sentence.

"Utau-Chi is innocent?" Yaya exclaimed.

"I suppose." Utau muttered.

"That's great news!" Amu exclaimed.

"YAYA NEEDS TO MAKE A PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT! OH MY GOD, YAYA NEEDS TO CALL KUKAI-TAN AND TELL HIM HE ISN'T SINGLE AND, AND…"

"What do you mean, 'he's single…?" Utau wondered.

"Uh, well, he considered that as a breakup…" Yaya admitted.

"I guess I can't blame him…" Utau muttered. Yaya was on her cell phone, calling Kukai and going hyper.

"So, what's the plan, Utau-Chan?" Tadase asked.

"After you finish school, we're going to finish Easter." Utau explained. Everyone's mouths opened.

"How exactly are we going to pull that off?" Nagihiko wondered.

"Well… We will be using a little jewel my father gave to one of his old friends." Utau said, holding a gem.

"What is that?" Rima wondered.

"It's a gem full of a special type of power that we can use to stop Easter. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but we can figure out those details later." Utau explained.

"How do you know it will work?" Nagihiko wondered.

"I don't know for sure, but it will at least save my brother." Utau said. "It will also help you purify those X-Eggs." She added to Rima.

"But…how will…" Nagihiko was interrupted, by Kukai's sudden entrance.

"What's this surprise you are talking about Yaya? I have to get to class; I can't afford to be late… Holy shit!" Kukai looked like he was going to pass out.

"AHHHH KUKAI-TAN CURSED!" Yaya moaned. Kukai ignored her.

"U-Utau?" Kukai exclaimed.

"That's my name." Utau muttered. Kukai's eyes widened.

"Why…what…you…what?" Utau sighed, and explained. Kukai hugged her. "I knew you weren't really bad! After school, me and you ramen now!~"

"No." Utau muttered.

"What? How could you ever back down a ramen eating challenge?"

"Because, we're going to stop Easter." Kukai stared at her, as if she was crazy. Suddenly, the bell rang. "Shoot! Well, I'll meet you guys later!" Kukai grinned, and jogged off. Everyone else left for their classes, except for Utau.

"See you guys later." Nagihiko said, as Rima, Amu, and Tadase left for their class. Rima waved to Nagihiko, making some fan-boys glare at Nagihiko. Rima sighed, and left for her class with Amu and Tadase. Nikaidou greeted them, as they took their seats. He opened his mouth, beginning the lesson.

* * *

><p>After school, the three of them made their way to the Royal Garden. Rima trotted behind Amu and Tadase who were talking and holding hands. However, there was a strange expression on Tadase's face; it was almost…guilt?<p>

"WAHH! YOU GUYS ARE LATE!" Yaya screeched loudly.

"Since when was there a set time besides after school?" Amu wondered.

"Anyway, we need to get to business." Utau said. "I could care less about your school days. Now, our main focus is stopping Easter. We need a plan." Everyone looked at each other. Kukai, who was also there, raised his eyebrow.

"Utau-Chan… I know you want to save your brother, but… we can't really stop Easter completely now…" Nagihiko started.

"You underestimate me." Utau hissed.

"But, no one can come up with a radical plan in one day." Nagihiko pointed out. "Yes, we did want to do something major before graduation, but this is pushing things. We can't stop Easter, not now…"

"Like I said, the power comes from this jewel!" Utau said.

"We don't even know what power this jewel has." Tadase pointed out. "We can help Ikuto-NiiSan, but I agree with Fujisaki-Kun; we cannot take down the whole entire company yet." Utau opened her mouth to speak.

"Why not?" Rima interrupted. Everyone looked at her, confused. She immediately regretted speaking. She knew that a part of Utau's plan contained Rima purifying those X-Eggs. Suddenly, Rima noticed the jewel, and she had an idea.

"Let's get cotton candy!" Yaya moaned.

"Cotton candy? That's a new request!" Kukai said.

"Yaya wants it now!" Yaya moaned. Rima tuned the others out, and turned to Kusu-Kusu.

"Kusu-Kusu, do you think you can steal the jewel from Utau without anyone noticing?" Rima whispered to her chara. Kusu-Kusu looked stunned.

"W-What? Why?" Kusu-Kusu exclaimed.

"I need to borrow it for something." Rima hissed. Kusu-Kusu looked at Rima as if she was crazy, but she nodded. Rima gave her chara a small smile, to motivate her. Kusu-Kusu floated behind Utau, without the others noticing.

"Look, can't we just think of a plan? I assure you guys; this plan will work!" Utau said.

"We don't have a plan…so how can it work?" Nagihiko wondered. Utau glared at Nagihiko.

"Anything Utau does will work!" Kukai said, siding with Utau. Nagihiko looked at Kukai, sighing. Rima watched as Kusu-Kusu grabbed the jewel carefully, and flying underneath the table, flew it to Rima. Rima smirked, as she pocketed the jewel quickly.

"Ah, Sanjou-San mentioned me coming home early. So, I'm going to go. See you guys later!" Rima said, standing up. Even though it was a lie, it still stung when Rima referred to Sanjou-San's house as "home."

"Good-bye Rima!" Amu called. How did Amu fall for that lie? Nagihiko looked at her with clear suspicion in his eyes, as Rima quickly left.

"Now, let's go to Easter." Rima said, leaving the Royal Garden.

"Rima, what exactly do you have planned?" Kusu-Kusu asked.

"I think I can possibly use the jewel's power to purify the X-Eggs!" Rima said. "I hope Utau doesn't need it for her plan…" They got to the back of the Easter building, and saw the usual groups of the so-called unpurifiable X-Eggs. "My own heart, unlock!" Rima yelled. She transformed with Kusu-Kusu, creating Clown Drop. Rima landed, and took out the jewel.

"Now what?" Kusu-Kusu asked from inside Rima.

"Uh…" Rima hesitated. "Jewel!" Rima tossed up the jewel, hoping something would happen. The jewel simply came flying down, and Rima quickly caught it. "Great, now what?" The X-Eggs stayed motionless. Rima tried wrapping ropes around the X-Eggs and throwing Juggling Pins at them, but it was all useless.

"Maybe we should have thought this out more…" Kusu-Kusu said.

"No… I'm ready now!" Rima snapped. "I _will_ purify these X-Eggs!" Rima held the jewel in her hand, when suddenly, someone tackled her to the ground. Rima gasped in surprise.

"Give it back!" Utau screamed, trying to snatch the jewel from Rima.

"No, wait, I need it!" Rima exclaimed. She was left struggling on the ground.

"You stole it from me!"

"I need it… the X-Eggs, they can be…"

"You have no proof!"

"You don't have any either!" Rima yelled. "Now, can you just get off?" Utau stood up, but still made an effort to steal it back. Rima stood up quickly, pivoting to the side quickly.

"Guys, stop!" Amu called. "Rima, it's Utau's; you should give it back."

"But Amu, I need it for the X-Eggs!" Rima exclaimed.

"Well, I guess you have to live in pain with the X-Eggs being X-Eggs forever." Utau said. "It's your fault anyway, for not listening to me…" Rima was very close to tears.

"Guys, just…" Tadase was interrupted by the sudden glowing of the jewel.

"IT'S GLOWING!" Yaya exclaimed, narrating the situation.

"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Utau muttered. It floated out of Rima's hand. Rima stared at it. How could a jewel start floating? It floated towards Rima. Rima watched it, as it spun around her.

"Why is it going to her? That was a gift my father gave to a friend!" Utau exclaimed.

"So…the jewel isn't really yours?" Nagihiko questioned. Utau ignored him. Rima reached for the jewel, when she heard a sound that sounded like glass shattering.

"What was that?" Amu exclaimed.

"The X-Eggs! Their protective barrier is gone!" Nagihiko exclaimed. "Now they can be purified, probably." Rima smiled, as she jumped up, and closed her eyes.

"Grand Finale!" Rima yelled.

"Wait…she can purify X-Eggs?" Kukai exclaimed, his mouth dropping open. Rima watched as the X-Eggs were shining, and they floated away, to their owners. Rima could only see brightness. She watched the jewel crack into many different pieces. She knew Utau would be mad. The transformation ended, and Rima felt herself fall to the ground, the world turning black.

**So, there are two more chapters. Please rate and review these last three chapters! I want this story to go down strongly. Also, check out my most popular story, Nagihiko's Father. **


	13. Husband and Wife

**I apologize deeply for not updating for a while. School has gotten in the way and I have been working on many other things. So, this is the second to last chapter. I promise not to leave anything opened in the end. I can also promise you not a sequel… if you want to read more romantic RimaHiko, check out almost all of my fanfics xD. Well, I own nothing, and enjoy!**

_She was swimming, swimming in a giant pool of water. She needed to get to the other side, to get to the others. Amu, Kukai, and Yaya were cheering her on. Tadase smiled kindly, awaiting her arrival. Utau and Kairi watched as well, cheerful smiles on their face. Yukari and Nikaidou smiled as Rima continued to swim. As she swam closer to the finish, it was getting harder and harder. She struggled to get past. It didn't help that she could barely swim. Finally, she was three-fourths of the way finished, when she saw a hand reaching out to help. A familiar boy with long purple hair smiled, offering his hand. Smiling as well, Rima took his hand, rising from the water. _

Slowly, Rima's eyes opened, as she felt water touch her skin. Was she really in a pool, swimming to the end? She could picture Nagihiko's hand reaching towards her, and she smiled like an idiot.

"When you dump water on someone's face, you don't picture them smiling happily." Yaya muttered. Rima's smile faded, realizing that the "swimming pool" was actually water being dumped on her face. It occurred to her that she was now wet.

"Why…did you dump water on me?" Rima wondered.

"To wake you up! You've been unconscious for a whole day!" Yaya pointed out. "Today's Yukari and Nikaidou's wedding!" Rima looked at Yaya, confused.

"Why was I passed out?" Rima asked.

"Um, remember? There was that creepy gem thing, that Utau is _really_ mad at you about by the way. You purified those X-Eggs!" Yaya reminded her.

"Oh…yeah… wait, I purified them?" Rima exclaimed. Yaya nodded.

"Yup! Well, you better get ready now! It's the wedding!"

"Their wedding is today…?" Rima wondered. Rima remembered now. "Well, I suppose there's no point showering, since I'm already wet." She shot Yaya a glare. "What am I wearing?"

"Ohhh, Yaya and Amu-Chi picked out the perfect dress!" Yaya exclaimed. "Well, Miki designed it, but it was our inspiration!" Rima sighed. She was slightly frightened.

"Don't make it over the top." Rima muttered.

"Nah, Amu-Chi and Yaya made it modest! We made it less big for the wedding than the dance because you aren't the star!"

"I wasn't the star of that stupid dance." Rima grumbled.

"Yes you were!" Yaya protested.

"There was no star of the dance. It was a school dance." Rima pointed out. "Whatever, can I see the dress? And while you get the dress, get me a towel."

"Okay!" Yaya stood up happily, and went to get Rima a towel and her dress. Rima sighed, standing up. She felt really weird standing up. She was stiff, since she hadn't moved in over twenty-four hours. It occurred to Rima that she was in Yukari and Nikaidou's house; her room. A few seconds later, Yaya came back, holding the dress on one shoulder and the towel on the other.

"Why is the dress red?" Rima wondered.

"Because that's the color Sanjou-San picked for her bridesmaids." Yaya said.

"Wait… I'm a bride's maid?" Rima exclaimed.

"Duh! So are Amu-Chi, Utau-Tan, and Yaya!" Yaya said. "And the boys are ushers!"

"Why didn't you change yet?" Rima wondered.

"Yaya was trying to wake you up!" Yaya said, grinning. "That's the job Amu-Chi and Tada-Tan assigned me!"

"Okay… Yaya, can I have privacy? I need to change." Rima said. Yaya nodded, skipping out the door. Yaya closed the door on her way out.

"The dress is pretty! It isn't even over the top!" Kusu-Kusu observed.

"Yeah…" Rima agreed. "Are you okay Kusu-Kusu? I mean, we both performed that purification…"

"I'm fine!" Kusu-Kusu reassured. "But, wow, that was sooo cool! We performed a purification! How cool!"

"It's not like it was the first purification we've performed…" Rima pointed out, taking off her clothes.

"Yeah, but it was the first time it was just us. It was called Grand Finale! Ah, it was just so much fun! The first purification we did was really cool too, but that wasn't just us." Kusu-Kusu said.

"So… the X-Eggs are purified? We don't need to worry about them anymore?" Rima asked.

"Correct!" Kusu-Kusu grinned. Rima smiled, drying herself with the towel. Finally, she put her dress on, after putting on her undergarments. She looked into a mirror, studying herself. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

"Are you decent?" A voice, recognizable as Amu, asked.

"I'm dressed." Rima replied. Amu opened the door, in a very similar red dress.

"You look really pretty Rima!" Amu exclaimed. "Great job with the dresses Miki!" Miki beamed.

"Rima-Chan, your hair needs to be done!" Miki pointed out. "Amu let's do her hair!" Before either of them could protest, Miki said, "Drew, draw, drawn!" A spade hair clip appeared in Amu's hair. Very quickly, but accurately, Amu did Rima's hair. Towards the end, Rima's hair was its usual wavy, but also straight in the back. She had two strands of hair over her shoulders. The character change ended, and Amu was herself.

"I've got to say, good job Miki!" Amu said. Rima stared at herself through the mirror. She really didn't care how she looked.

"Thanks Amu-Chan!" Miki smiled. "What do you think Rima?"

"It's…different." Rima muttered.

"That's a compliment from Rima." Amu said, winking. Miki nodded. "Well, we should get going to take some pictures!" Rima nodded, following Amu out of the bedroom. Rima wasn't sure exactly how she felt about a wedding. A wedding was when a couple joined together to get married. Rima's parents had a wedding, thinking they would be happy. However, their happiness didn't end well. Rima's very much bruised leg proved that…

As Rima descended down the stairs, lifting the skirt of her dress so she wouldn't trip, the first thing she heard was, "HOCUS POCUS!" Blinking, Rima was very puzzled.

"OH MY GOD, YOU MADE THE BUNNY APPEAR! HOW DID YOU DO THAT!" Kukai exclaimed, rather loudly.

"Kukai, it was behind her the whole entire time." Utau muttered, clearly unimpressed by Yaya's magic trick. "Look, all of your tricks are stupid. Do something clever."

"Ohhhhh, Yaya saved the _best_ one for last!" Yaya grinned. Rima saw Yaya wave her fingers like a wand. She was wearing a top hat, along with her red dress. Kukai was watching, mesmerized. Utau's arms were crossed, clearly only watching out of boredom. Utau wore her red dress as well, whereas Kukai wore his suit. "HOCUS, POCUS, LOCUS, MOCUS, TOCUS!" Yaya did a little twirl, and took off her top hat, revealing what was inside.

"There's nothing inside." Utau commented.

"What? Yaya must have done the trick wrong. Let's do it again!" Yaya grinned, putting the hat on. Rima could tell that Yaya intentionally forgot something. Rima noticed Pepe float into the small opening of Yaya's hat. "HOCUS, POCUS, LOCUS, MOCUS, TOCUS!" At that moment, a beep from a microwave went off.

"Ah, sorry Yaya-Chan; continue your magic trick." Nagihiko said. Rima didn't expect to hear his voice. Her face turned red, clenching her fists.

"I will Nagi-Tan!" Yaya said, twirling her hat around, and revealing the contents. Not to Rima's surprise, Pepe was inside.

"Voila ~dechu!" Pepe said, bowing.

"I saw her float in…" Utau muttered.

"No you didn't!" Yaya moaned. "Nagi-Tan, are the muffins ready?"

"Almost." Nagihiko replied. "I just need to add chocolate chips." Yaya grinned.

"YAYA'S SOOOOOO EXCITED!" Yaya exclaimed, twirling around, her dress spinning as well. She accidently bumped into Amu, and they both fell to the ground.

"Yaya!" Kukai exclaimed, running towards her. "You okay?" He noticed Amu. "Oh hey, good morning Hinamori!"

"Morning…" Amu muttered. Kukai grinned, holding out his hands for them to take. Amu and Yaya each took one, and stood up. Kukai turned around, and saw Rima.

"Oh hey, you woke up!" Kukai exclaimed. "How was your _long_ nap?"

"It was only a day." Rima muttered.

"Well, still!" Kukai moaned. "That's a long time! C'mon, Nagi's making muffins! Come eat some!" Kukai led Amu and Rima into the dining room. Utau looked at Rima, and shot her a glare, not saying anything. Rima and Amu sat down.

"Well, how was your morning?" Kukai asked, turning to Amu.

"Fine, I suppose…" Amu said. "It was a normal morning, really…"

"Yeah it was, sleeping through your alarm and needing us to wake you up." Ran pointed out. Amu blushed.

"Ran!" Amu moaned. Yaya laughed hysterically, as if it was the funniest joke ever.

"Okay the muffins are ready." Nagihiko carried the tray over to the table.

"YAYA GETS TWO!" Yaya announced.

"If you want, Yaya-Chan, but I'm sure there's going to be plenty of food at the wedding." Nagihiko pointed out. Rima observed his suit. It was black, and he wore a white dress shirt underneath. He wore black pants to match. Overall, he looked amazing. Rima, however, wasn't going to be the one to comment on him.

Nagihiko handed everyone a muffin, giving Yaya two. When he got to Rima, he gave her a smile, and handed her a muffin.

"You look really pretty." Nagihiko whispered to her.

"Thanks…" Rima muttered, slightly embarrassed. Nagihiko sat down beside her, and ate his own muffin.

"Are you guys ready to go yet?" Everyone looked up, and saw Nikaidou. Nikaidou wore a black suit, which was really formal. "Since we don't have much time, we are limiting the photos, and just going to get on with the wedding."

"Nikaidou-Sensei, you look great!" Amu exclaimed, smiling.

"Thanks…" Nikaidou scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. "Well, is everyone ready? I'm pretty anxious!"

"Tadase's not back yet." Utau pointed out. Rima almost forgot about him.

"Oh, he's meeting us there with Ikuto." Nikaidou said. Rima remembered that he would be there too, and she didn't like that. The last time Rima was with him, it had been really awkward. Nagihiko had allowed her to escape, and that's when their relationship began. Rima shook that thought off, blushing. Amu didn't seem too fond of the Ikuto idea either. "Kairi's riding with Yukari also."

"Okay, let's go now then!" Amu said. Nikaidou nodded, looking frightened. Everyone stood up, and left the door. Rima walked with Nagihiko.

"Nagi, did we end up defeating Easter?" Rima asked.

"No…" He admitted. "I didn't expect to anyway though… It was an unrealistic goal. All that happened was you purified the X-Eggs. After you passed out, we almost got caught outside of Easter." Nagihiko lowered his voice to a whisper. "Utau insisted that now was the time to go in, but Kukai and I tried to convince her that wasn't the right thing to do. The others helped too. No one was too fond of ending Easter right now. Besides, we didn't have a solid plan. Utau wanted to use the gem, but you had already used that when you purified the X-Eggs. She…isn't exactly forgiving of that. Don't worry about that, just give her time. So, long story short, we finally convinced Utau to leave, and we let you rest in your room in Sanjou-San's house." Rima nodded. Utau crossed her arms, probably overhearing their conversation. Rima really didn't care.

Everyone's mouths, with the exception of Nagihiko, dropped open, upon seeing a limousine.

"Oh my god, we're riding in a limousine?" Yaya exclaimed.

"Yup!" Nikaidou said, smiling. "After the wedding, this limousine will take us to our honeymoon location. We won't be on it long!"

"Where are you going?" Nagihiko asked.

"I don't know…" Nikaidou admitted. "Yukari is surprising me. She wanted to switch stereotypes, so she planned it all."

"That's nice." Amu said.

"I guess we'll see…" For the rest of the drive, everyone was silent. Finally, the limousine arrived in front of the place they would be married at. Nikaidou stepped out of the car, looking extremely pale. The others stepped out behind him.

"It's such a nice day! It will be a great day for a wedding." Amu said, smiling. In Rima's opinion, it was too nice. She didn't like this whole idea of romance. Weddings depressed Rima, since they made her think of her parents. Out of the corner of her eye, Rima noticed Nagihiko. She didn't want them to turn into her parents. She wanted to have a normal relationship with him. She hoped the same thing for Nikaidou and Yukari…

"Okay, you guys can go talk to the rest of your friends over there. I need to figure out… what to do." Nikaidou said, walking away.

"Nikaidou looks so clueless; it's really funny!" Kukai said, grinning. "I bet Sanjou-San is the same way." He turned to Utau. "Oh Utau, I forgot to mention, you look, hot, in your dress." Kukai turned red, and added, "No pun intended."

"Pun?" Utau wondered, confused.

"I mean, red is considered to be hot, and you're wearing red. Plus, I'm blushing, so it's like, a double unintended pun!" Utau stared at him for two seconds, sighing.

"Who's the maid of honor?" Amu asked.

"I am!~" All eyes turned, seeing a woman in red. "I am Yuka's oldest and closest friend, Makara Lee! It's an honor to meet you kiddos!" Kiddo? Rima stared at Makara. Yukari had strange friends…

"It's nice to meet you." Nagihiko said politely.

"Oh my, you're handsome! Such a rather dashing young man!" She ran her hand over Nagihiko's head. Nagihiko stared at her, puzzlement clearly seen on his face.

". . . Thanks…" Nagihiko said slowly. Makara beamed.

"I'll see you kiddos later!" Makara winked at them, as she walked away.

"That's…Sanjou-San's maid of honor?" Amu asked, an eyebrow raised. She made sure Makara was out of earshot.

"That was…interesting." Nagihiko muttered.

"Guys, I'm ready for a PARTY!" Kukai said, grinning.

"Well, you have to wait for a while." Utau muttered. Kukai and Yaya both pouted.

"Utau-Chi, will there be candy?" Yaya asked.

"Sanjou-San mentioned something about a chocolate fondue." Utau replied. Yaya's eyes widened, a sparkle in them.

"C-Chocolate fondue? YUMMY!" Yaya's mouth widened. She ran around, as if she was on a pre-sugar rush.

"Hello guys." Tadase walked towards them, looking handsome. Amu turned bright red. Tadase looked at her, smiling. "You look beautiful Amu-Chan."

"Ah, um, err…thanks… You look great yourself." Amu said, blushing. They smiled at each other.

"The rest of you look great as well!" Tadase quickly added.

"No one looks as good as Amu." Amu jumped back, crashing into the person behind her who caught her. Utau looked angry.

"I-Ikuto?" Amu exclaimed.

"I miss that old reaction of yours." Ikuto muttered. "How are you Amu? Same old?" Tadase narrowed his eyes.

"Ikuto-NiiSan, what about what you told me the other day…?" Tadase asked. "You said…"

"A person can change their mind." Ikuto said.

"What are you talking about?" Amu asked.

"Nothing that matters anymore." Ikuto smirked, putting his arms around Amu. She turned red. Rima stared at Amu, puzzled. Why was Amu acting as if nothing happened with Ikuto? Ikuto had broken Rima's heart, and not even apologized for it! Why was Amu suddenly so in love with him? As if reading her mind, Nagihiko took her hand, and turned her to face him, away from everyone else.

"After the whole Easter thing was disbanded, Ikuto met up with us. He…sort of apologized to you. It wasn't much of an apology, but Amu-Chan forgave him, and now it's like that." Nagihiko explained.

"Why did he say sorry when I was clearly unconscious?" Rima wondered.

"I guess everyone has their own way of doing things." Nagihiko shrugged. "To be perfectly honest, it was more than I expected him to give…" Nagihiko looked at her. "Rima-Chan, no one expects you to forgive him right away. What he did was wrong."

"Did he explain…why?" Rima wondered.

"He…" Nagihiko glanced at Ikuto. "He mentioned that he will talk to you later about that. He told Amu, and told her to hold off telling the rest of us until you know." Rima nodded slowly, slightly confused.

"Are you guys ready? We're going now!" Kukai told them. Rima and Nagihiko nodded, following the others.

"Alright, so, since neither of them wanted it to be too formal, we will be walking in pairs down the aisle." Tadase explained. "It doesn't matter who's with whom, but maybe I could be with…" Before Tadase could finish speaking, Yaya jumped up, upon seeing Kairi.

"OH MY GOSH KAIRI-KUN! YOU LOOK SO HANDSOME!" Yaya jumped into Kairi's arms, clearly taking him by surprise.

"Ace…" Kairi muttered sighing.

"Who's that?" A woman asked. She looked a lot like a female version of Kairi. She had Yukari's red hair, but Kairi's face. Like the other two, she wore glasses. Rima could only guess it was Kairi's mother.

"She's a friend of mine…" Kairi muttered. "Her name is Yuiki Yaya." Yaya let go of Kairi and grinned.

"HEY HEY!" Yaya greeted.

"Why hello Yaya darling." The woman smiled. "I am Kairi and Yukari's mother. Are you apart of the guardians that they mention?" Yaya nodded. "Mmm, I believe Kairi has spoken of you before." Kairi turned a shade of red. Rima raised an eyebrow. Kairi's mother looked at Rima and the others. "It's nice to meet you guys as well."

"Why hello!" A man walked beside her, grinning. He didn't resemble Kairi at all, but Rima could see a slight resemblance to Yukari. "I am this woman's wife!" Kairi's mother stared at him, confused. "Err, I mean husband!" No one laughed. Kairi's father's energy lowered. "On a serious note, I'm happy that you all came to see my daughter getting married. Yuu is a great man. My daughter is…very grumpy sometimes. I wonder how he puts up with her." He smiled at Kairi. "Son, you should be watching closely! You're the next in the family!" Kairi's face paled.

"Y-Yes, but I have many years to wait for my wedding." Kairi pushed his glasses up.

"It's nice to meet you Kairi-Kun's parents!" Yaya grinned. Kairi's father grinned back. The guardians, plus Kukai, Utau, and Ikuto walked away.

"Sanjou-Kun's mother didn't seem too calm either… I wonder how Sanjou-Kun became who he is…" Nagihiko thought aloud.

"Hey Yaya… How come you always add 'tan' and 'chi' as your honorific for everyone, except for Kairi, you use 'kun?" Rima asked.

"Because Kairi-Kun is less playful!" Yaya moaned.

"Tadase isn't playful…no offense." Tadase sweat dropped.

"Well, Yaya doesn't know!" Yaya moaned.

"Well, we should get going. The ceremony will begin soon. We should decide who's walking down the aisle with whom." Tadase said.

"Dibs on Amu." Ikuto muttered.

"You don't get dibs on her." Tadase pointed out. "She can choose who she wants to walk with." Both guys looked at Amu. Amu looked around nervously.

"Uh, I was going to walk with…Kukai!" Amu quickly said.

"Shouldn't Kukai walk down with Utau since they're a couple?" Rima wondered. Utau glared at Rima.

"Well, I'd love to see you walk down with Nagi, and perhaps hold hands, since that's what you two seem to always do." Rima turned red.

"I'm not holding his hand now!" Rima pointed out.

"Well, now's the exception." Utau muttered her arms crossed.

"Look, whatever tension you two have over some stupid gem, can't you get over it? The X-Eggs are purified, which you both wanted. Easter can be stopped later." Nagihiko muttered.

"You used the gem?" Ikuto asked.

"Yeah, I went to that Toshiro's house." Utau muttered.

"Hey! Yaya has an idea! Utau-Chi should walk down with Ikuto-Tan since they're siblings! And since Yaya is pretty much siblings with Kukai not by blood, we should walk down!"

"That'll do." Utau seemed satisfied.

"I don't like that." Ikuto muttered. Utau looked at the ground, feeling hurt. "Clearly, Amu will be walking with the kiddy king, and I don't approve."

"Sorry Ikuto-NiiSan, but you shouldn't have given her up or broken Mashiro-San's heart." Tadase said, a rare sly smirk on his face.

"It wasn't my fault! I had to in order to appease the director…" Rima stared at Ikuto.

"Appease the director?" Rima asked.

"He…He was going to harm Utau." Ikuto muttered. Utau looked up, surprised. "He saw her as a threat; a rebel. He wanted to dispose of her. I couldn't allow that to happen. So, I needed a new plan, a way that I could gain the director's trust so he wouldn't hurt her. I happened to notice you looking depressed one day in the park. I figured that you were the perfect target." Rima looked at the ground.

"So, you manipulated me and ruined my life, just to save your sister who probably would've been fine anyway? Because of you, I tried to commit suicide twice!" Rima couldn't hold back her tears.

"Rima, he was helping his sister…" Amu tried to reassure.

"I don't care!" Rima was crying now. "My life was awful. You couldn't at least give me an apology? I, I…"

"I wasn't even the source of your problems." Ikuto crossed his arms.

"You were part of the problem!" Rima sobbed.

"It was your freaking parents!" Utau defended. "I warned you anyway. If you only listened to me earlier, you could've been alright, but of course, you didn't. You're an idiot. You only cause problems for everyone else. You're…"

"Utau, shut up." Nagihiko muttered coldly. There was silence, except for Rima's tears. Nagihiko put his arms around her, hugging her close to himself.

"Guys, please get along!" Yaya tried to moan. "It's a wedding! You'll upset Kairi-Kun! He wants the day perfect for his sister!"

"You're right Yaya…" Amu smiled. "Look, I understand the tension between you guys, I really do. Just don't fight now, okay?" There was silence.

"Oh, Tadase-Kun, you look amazing!" Everyone turned, seeing Saaya. She wore an extremely formal dress. Since she wasn't wearing a red dress, Rima could only guess she wasn't a bridesmaid. So, Nikaidou had probably invited the whole class, if he included Saaya. Before Rima could think anything else, a few fan-boys ran towards her.

"MASHIRO-SAMA YOU LOOK AMAZING AND BEAUTIFUL!" They exclaimed. Rima wiped tears away, before they could notice. That was the last thing she wanted. Rima sighed, ignoring her fan-boys.

"Thanks Yamabuki-San…" Tadase said slowly. Saaya beamed. "Yamabuki-San, you should take your seat in the audience." Saaya blew Tadase a kiss, and went to her seat.

"It looks like she really likes you a lot; you should ask her out." Ikuto told Tadase. Tadase shot him a glare.

"Too bad I'm already going out with Amu." Tadase said, smirking. Rima was shocked to see Tadase acting like this. Tadase was usually calm.

"That will change." Ikuto muttered darkly and quietly.

"Why is it always me?" Amu muttered, sighing. "I really hope there is no couple's dance during the party… they have those at weddings pretty often…"

"They do?" Rima exclaimed. Amu nodded, glumly. "Good thing I'm not in a relationship!" Nagihiko face-palmed, and Amu and Yaya stared at Rima, as if she was stupid.

"Rima…" Amu sighed.

"What? We aren't in a relationship! We haven't even gone on a single date! We have been 'together' for not even a full week."

"Well, the way you two act tends to seem like you've been dating for quite a while." Amu pointed out.

"At least I'm not like those two." Rima motioned towards Kukai and Utau.

"Are you really targeting me again?" Utau sighed. "Do you get that I don't want anything to do with you?"

"I'm sorry I stole your_ precious _gem, Utau. I feel _extremely_ guilty! If only it was a big deal!"

"That was a present given to a family friend by my father! It was meant for the hands of a Tsukiyomi, not for the hands of some stupid girl that is depressed by parents whose problems are nothing compared to my parents." Rima was enraged now.

"Well, I would've much rather preferred it if my father was dead." Rima muttered quietly. No one said anything.

"Guys. Happy wedding? Remember?" Yaya grinned. "EVERYONE SMILE! 1, 2, 3, SMILE!" Everyone, with the exceptions of Rima, Utau, and Ikuto smiled. Obviously, Yaya and Kukai's smiles were a lot more wide than everyone else's. "SMILE!"

"Not in the mood." Rima muttered. "Look, I understand Sanjou-San and Nikaidou-Sensei's need to have a happy wedding. I'm not going to be exactly gleeful now, so I should probably just leave now, and make everyone else's lives better."

"Okay. Bye." Utau said.

"Utau, that was rude!" Kukai told her. "Look, you're treating Rima cruelly! Yeah, she wasn't exactly perfect in everything, but she went through a lot in a short period of time! Can't you have some empathy for her?" Everyone looked at Kukai surprised. Rima smiled slightly. She never would've guessed Kukai to stand up for her, especially against Utau. Even Utau looked surprised.

"I…" Utau started.

"Okay, are you guys ready to go down the aisle?" A man walked towards them. "I am Yuu's childhood friend, Lozi Gotori. Did you decide who's walking down the aisle with whom?" Everyone nodded slowly. "Cool! Walk with your partner, and we'll decide the order." Lozi walked away.

"Heehee, Yaya's so excited!" Yaya grinned. "This should be so much fun!" Yaya grabbed Kukai's arm. "Let's go down the aisle!"

"Okay!" Kukai seemed a lot more willing to go down the aisle with Yaya then before. Was everyone, except for her obnoxious brother, mad at Utau? Utau walked closer to her brother. Ikuto was glaring at Kukai.

"Tadase-Kun, let's go." Amu said, blushing.

"Why are they going together?" Ikuto muttered.

"Well, we're a couple, and the last two remaining, so we should go down together." Tadase took Amu's hand, and squeezed it. Nagihiko gave Rima a smile that she couldn't return.

"Okay! Line up behind us, and walk down when you are told to. Don't go too fast but not super slow. Go arm and arm with your partner." Lozi instructed. He and his partner were ahead of them. The guardians were last, with the exception of Yukari and her strange parents. Of the guardians, Ikuto and Utau were last.

"Sanjou-San, you look beautiful!" Amu whispered.

"Thanks." Yukari muttered.

"Nikaidou-Sensei, you look great as well." Amu told him. Nikaidou was at front.

"Thanks." Nikaidou muttered nervously. "Can't I look at Yukari?"

"NO!" A few of Yukari's friends exclaimed. "It is bad luck to see the bride before she walks down the aisle."

"Stupid superstitions…" Nikaidou muttered. Suddenly, the music started playing. Nikaidou walked down first, with his mother. Rima was curious to what happened to his father…In the middle of walking down, Nikaidou tripped, falling to the ground.

"Idiot!" Yukari screeched.

Following him, was Kairi walking with Makara. She was grabbing his arm tightly. Kairi took every step carefully, hiding his nerves. Yaya was going to cheer him on, but her cheers were muffled by Utau covering her mouth. A few of Yukari's other bridesmaids walked down.

"Is it bad I'm slightly nervous?" Amu whispered.

"No, it's okay. I am too." Tadase admitted, squeezing Amu's hand. Finally, they walked down together. Peering out, Rima could see fan-girls of Tadase looking upset. It was Yaya and Kukai's turn now. They walked down, as if it was a party. It wasn't formal at all… Finally, it was Rima's turn. She walked down with Nagihiko, both of them calm. Rima could see fan-boys gawking at them. It made Rima smile slightly. As they got to the end of the aisle, they sat beside the others.

"Great job!" Amu hissed.

"What type of stupid tradition is this?" Rima muttered. "Why do people walk down the aisles?"

"It's just a tradition. I tend to agree with you that it's pointless, but I wouldn't complain about it right now." Nagihiko whispered.

"I don't really want to know what your wedding will be like…" Amu sweat dropped. "The two of you…"

"I'm not marrying him!" Rima hissed, blushing. "However, if I were to marry, I wouldn't want a wedding like this."

"Suppose your groom wants a wedding like this." Nagihiko pointed out. Rima glared at him.

"I thought you said that you agreed with me!" Rima hissed.

"And I thought you said you weren't marrying me." Nagihiko smiled. Rima glared at him. Utau and Ikuto took their seats beside the others, not smiling at anyone. Finally, Yukari walked down the aisle. "Here comes the bride" was now playing. She wore a beautiful white dress, with a veil covering her face. Her dress was shorter than most wedding gowns. Rima liked that.

"Ugh, the aisle is too long!" Yukari complained loudly. Letting go of her parents' arms, she dashed across the aisle, catching up with Nikaidou. He raised an eyebrow seeing her. "What? Do you hate my dress?"

"No, you look beautiful…but why did you run across the aisle?" Nikaidou asked.

"Because, I wanted to! I was lazy!" Yukari muttered. The others watched, sweat dropping. Yukari's parents finally walked across the aisle. They lifted Yukari's veil, and stood beside them. Kairi stood on the other side, looking nervous.

"Kairi-Kun." Yaya hissed. Kairi looked at her.

"Ace, I can't right now…" Kairi whispered. "The ceremony is going to continue."

"Yaya just wanted to say good luck!" Yaya smiled. Kairi turned slightly red, and turned back to Yukari and Nikaidou. The ceremony continued. Yukari looked to be getting even more bored.

"Nikaidou Yuu, do you take Sanjou Yukari as your bride?" The minister asked.

"I do." Nikaidou muttered.

"Sanjou Yukari, do you take Nikaidou Yuu as your groom?" There was silence.

"Yukari! Just say 'I do." Nikaidou hissed.

"Huh, what?" Yukari looked up. "Sorry, I spaced out." Nikaidou sighed. "I do…?"

"You may kiss the bride." Both stared at each other awkwardly, before kissing. Music played in the background. The audience clapped. Everyone left the room, heading to the party room.

"Is it party time?" Yaya wondered, excited.

"Yup. I don't think they're having a cocktail hour." Amu said. Yaya grinned.

"YAY! Yaya can't wait! It's going to be so much fun; good food, chocolate fondue, and less importantly, dancing." Yaya grinned. Arriving inside the party room, they saw many tables. There was one that had each of their names labeled on it.

"Yay! We're all sitting together!" Yaya said.

"No duh. Why would they seat us apart from each other?" Rima wondered.

"Is Kairi-Kun sitting with us?" Yaya asked.

"No… He has his whole entire family here." Nagihiko pointed out. "I'm sure he'll visit though; it's not like we're locked to our seats." Everyone took their assigned seats. On the dance floor, a man walked onto the floor, clearly being the host.

"Let the groom and the bride have their first dance!" Yukari and Nikaidou walked onto the dance floor shyly, and started dancing slowly. It was awkward to watch, to Rima. "All couples accompany them on the dance floor!" Amu's face suddenly turned pale, as both Tadase and Ikuto looked at her.

"No." Rima hissed to Nagihiko before he could say anything.

"I wasn't going to ask you…" Nagihiko muttered.

"You weren't?" Rima looked at him, surprised. At this point, Kukai and Utau went to the dance floor.

"It's not that I don't think of us as a couple." Nagihiko looked around. "It's your fan-boys. They don't scare me, but they would definitely make us feel uncomfortable." Rima nodded. For the entire couples' dance, Amu didn't go up. Yaya was looking at Kairi. Rima smirked.

"Are you two a couple?" Rima asked. Yaya jumped, not expecting Rima.

"What? No…" Yaya admitted.

"Then why are you watching him?" Rima asked.

"Just because we aren't a couple, doesn't mean Yaya doesn't _want_ to be a couple." Yaya muttered. Rima looked at her surprised. "Rima-Tan, why aren't you dancing? You're in a relationship."

"For one thing, no, we aren't." Rima muttered. "Secondly, there are many fan-boys…" Yaya nodded.

"But are you two going to dance at all?" Yaya asked.

"No, of course not!" Rima said. Nagihiko sighed. Finally, the couples' dance was over. The rest of the music that was being played was upbeat. Yaya danced a lot, grinning. She was the person that the camera man followed, since she had a ton of energy. Rima sweat dropped.

"Since the Nikaidou couple decided not to have cake, we are having a chocolate fondue!" All eyes were on Yaya, who was jumping up and down exuberantly. How did she have so much energy?

"Excuse me, but I just have a correction to make." Yukari stood up. "No, I'm not getting rid of the chocolate fondue," She winked at Yaya. "However, I just wanted to say that we aren't the Nikaidou couple. I am keeping the name Sanjou." The audience clapped.

"Now, the chocolate fondue is opened!" Before the host could finish his sentence, Yaya dashed towards the fondue, exploring everything she could dip into the fondue. Rima watched her.

"How much do you want to bet that she'll lick the chocolate?" Rima whispered to Nagihiko.

"A lot…" Nagihiko muttered, sweat dropping. The music continued playing. Rima went over to the chocolate fondue to eat something herself. Throughout the wedding, Rima mostly sat at the table with Nagihiko. They danced together once, to Nagihiko's persuasion. Finally, the wedding was over. Nikaidou and Yukari left to go on their honeymoon.

"That was so much fun!" Kukai exclaimed.

"Yaya doesn't feel so great…" Yaya admitted. Everyone sweat dropped.

"How much chocolate did you have?" Rima asked, sighing.

"…Yaya doesn't know…" Yaya moaned.

"Rima, the Sanjou parents are offering to drive us home." Utau muttered. Rima looked up, and followed Utau to their car. She waved to her other friends. Rima got into the car with Kairi and Utau as well. There was silence for the beginning of the ride. "Look, Rima, I guess I have to apologize." Rima looked at Utau, surprised. "It isn't like me to apologize, but whatever. I took it too far. I don't agree with what you said, but I shouldn't have made it so personal."

"It's fine…" Rima muttered. "Sorry for… having a grudge against your brother."

"You have every right to." Utau muttered. For the rest of the drive back to Nikaidou and Yukari's place, it was silent. Arriving back at home, Rima went to her room, and after changing, fell asleep.

**I'm sorry the ending was rushed. Okay, so this chapter took up…20 and a half pages on a word document! I was working way too long on this chapter! The final chapter will come out as soon as possible. Please review!**


	14. Graduation

**So, after fourteen chapters and almost a year, this story is finally going to come to an end. Thanks to all of those people who read this! There weren't too many, but for those who did… I can't thank you enough! Although it took me ages, many times, to update, you still kept reading! Although this story is ending for good, you can still read many other stories with RimaHiko written by me. Well, before I deter you anymore, let me get on with the disclaimer. I don't own Shugo Chara, or Airplanes. Thanks B.O.B and Hayley Williams for creating this song to inspire me to write this initially. I sincerely hope you enjoy the final chapter!**

Many people have issues in their lives. However, for Mashiro Rima, her problems came trampling on her at once, having limited time to deal with each one. The major problem began when her parents' arguing took a turn for the worse. They fought through the night and every day, preventing Rima from sleeping at night. When she did sleep, she often cried herself to bed. The worst part was that her parents ignored her rising depression. Based on this, Rima became isolated from the guardians, the only people she could talk to, and her chara, Kusu-Kusu. The guardians and Kusu-Kusu, therefore, became increasingly worried about her. However, Rima didn't tell anyone, except for Kusu-Kusu since she was with Rima always, what was wrong. Shortly prior to her parents' fighting, an issue in her life that wasn't too major became difficult to handle. She felt that romance never worked out, since her parents broke up, so having a crush that she insanely liked wasn't exactly the best thing for her. The worst part was he always attempted to talk to her, when she didn't want to. Rima's depression took a suicidal turn when she went out with Tsukiyomi Ikuto for an escape, even though she didn't have feelings for him. Ikuto acted all romantic to her, when it turned out, Ikuto had used Rima as bait to save his sister. Rima was heartbroken, to say the least. Finally, life began to get better. Although some worse events occurred, such as a suicide attempt and her father kicking her, Rima finally was able to move out of her parents' house, and live with friends. When she confessed to Fujisaki Nagihiko, he was able to reciprocate the love she had for him. Even Ikuto seemed to be apologetic in his own way. So, gradually, Rima was now recovered. She wasn't the way she used to be a year ago, but she was certainly how she was a few months ago.

"Rima!" Rima snapped out of her daydream, looking around, puzzled. Someone was waving in her face, trying to receive her attention.

"Huh? What?" Rima wondered, blinking. Without second guessing, Rima sighed. "What do you want Yaya?"

"You can't leave!" Yaya moaned. "You can't!" Rima suddenly remembered she was wearing a green gown for graduation. That's right…she was graduating in a few minutes.

"Yaya, it's not like I'm never going to see you again. We'll still be friends. Didn't you go through the same thing when Kukai left? Look how close you two are!" Rima said.

"Well, yeah, but… Yaya's going to be all alone!" Yaya moaned.

"You won't be alone. You'll find others to be in the guardians…" Rima pointed out.

"Kairi-Kun said he was going to be moving in with Sanjou-San and attending." Yaya said.

"See? Kairi is coming, so you'll have your boyfriend." Rima muttered.

"He's not Yaya's boyfriend!" Yaya protested. "Not yet anyway." Yaya grinned briefly, and then frowned. "Rima-Tan! Why do all of you have to be in the same grade? You're too short to be in the sixth year!" Rima narrowed her eyes.

"Yaya, I'm sorry I was born in the same year as the others." Rima muttered. Before Rima could open her mouth, a familiar pinkette and purplette walked towards the pair of them. Amu wore a black dress, and Nagihiko wore a blue dress shirt with black pants.

"Rima, we have to go; graduation will begin soon. Yaya, aren't you late to class?" Amu said.

"Well, yeah, but…" Yaya looked at the ground.

"Yaya-Chan, we'll still help out with the guardians." Nagihiko smiled reassuringly. "This won't be the last you see of us." Tears began to flow out of Yaya's eyes.

"Relax Yaya." Rima muttered. "Look, we can do something as the guardians after graduation. Didn't Tadase mention he wanted to do something momentous?"

"Yeah…" Yaya smiled. "See you guys later!" Yaya waved.

"Let's go." Amu said to Rima and Nagihiko. They nodded, following Amu to the auditorium. The three of them walked inside, finding their places in the back. Rima was far away from her friends, being an "M". Amu and Tadase were near each other, while Nagihiko was towards the front. He gave Rima a smile. Rima's face reddened.

"Amara, Lance." The announcer called, beginning the graduation. Rima recognized that name, since that was a random fan-boy of hers. A few more names were called, as students crossed the stage, receiving their pointless diploma.

"Fujisaki, Nagihiko." Nagihiko walked across the stage, elegantly as usual. He was confident on stage, used to dancing in front of many people. Amu and Tadase were called, receiving their diplomas. Rima moved closer and closer to the front, awaiting her name to be called.

"Mashiro, Rima." The announcer called. Rima really didn't care about the graduation, so she walked on stage, not nervous. As an administrator handed her the diploma, Rima scanned the audience, looking for someone that would never be there. Not to her surprise, her parents were not there. In fact, since Yukari and Nikaidou were on their honeymoon, no one was there for Rima; no one to care that she graduated elementary school. Although it wasn't a big deal, it still hurt that no one cared about her. Seeing her disappointment, Kusu-Kusu cheered. Rima gave a small smile, walking off the stage. The second she wasn't seen by the audience, tears welled up in her eyes. It wasn't sentimental for officially being graduated from Seiyo.

"Rima, we did it!" Amu walked towards her, smiling. "We made it so far!"

"I was only here for a year; it isn't a major accomplishment." Rima muttered. "You were only here for two years."

"Yeah, but it feels so much longer doesn't it? I mean, I was lucky to meet you guys. At my old school, I never really had friends…" Amu smiled.

"Yeah, whatever." Rima muttered, turning away.

"Rima, what's wrong? This should be a happy occasion!" Amu said. Upon seeing Nagihiko and Tadase walk over, Rima forced a smile.

"It's just so emotional… I've accomplished so much in one year! Their tears of…happiness…" Rima lied.

"You aren't the sentimental type." Nagihiko pointed out.

"I guess everyone is in their own way." Rima looked at him in the eye, and grinned. Nagihiko raised an eyebrow.

"Rima-Chan, if you are going to lie, grinning for you won't work, especially when you're upset." Nagihiko pointed out. "It only makes it more obvious."

"B-But, I'm not…" Rima sighed in defeat, and crossed her arms.

"Well, as guardians, we should do something. I mean, we won't be considered guardians anymore…" Tadase pointed out. "I'm sure Yuiki-San will handle the position very well." Amu nodded, smiling.

"Speaking of Yaya, we should go find her. If we spend time as guardians, we need our last guardian." Amu said. "Well, after our families of course." The four of them went outside, Rima trailing behind. She watched as the other three ran up to greet their families. Rima crossed her arms. They all had families who cared about them. Rima didn't. Tears began to form in her eyes, as everyone in the graduating class was with their families, except for Rima. She noticed Nagihiko glancing at her, probably realizing why she had been previously upset. Suddenly, someone wrapped their arms around Rima's shoulders, making her jump.

"CONGRATZ RIMA!" The voice yelled, grinning. "Welcome to the years of Middle School!" Rima didn't need to look backwards to see who it was.

"T-Thanks… Can you let go now?" Rima muttered. Kukai smiled, letting go. Rima faced him. He was wearing a tee-shirt and jeans. "Don't you have school?"

"Oh no, I'm on summer break!" Kukai grinned. "Hey, can I join you guys on your guardian thing? I know you want your actual guardians, but I helped out a lot!"

"I don't know; it's up to Tadase, or whoever." Rima muttered. As if on cue, Tadase, Amu, and Nagihiko walked over to the two of them.

"Hello Souma-Kun; thanks for coming." Tadase smiled.

"Sorry I didn't watch the actual graduation… It looked boring." Kukai grinned. "Besides, I was doing something with, a certain friend." Nagihiko raised an eyebrow.

"A certain friend?" Amu questioned. "Are you sure that 'certain friend' isn't someone we know?" Kukai blushed.

"Okay, you win; you know my certain friend very well." Kukai sighed. "Oh, and before you get the wrong idea, we were on a date for brunch." Kukai grinned. "Hey, can I join you guys today?"

"Of course Souma-Kun; you were very involved with the guardians." Tadase smiled. "I suppose you're overdue, since you never had something like this done for your graduation."

"Yeah; thanks for leaving early Nagi!" Kukai moaned.

"Well, we didn't do anything for you because you were the only guardian graduating." Nagihiko pointed out. "It had nothing to do with my departure."

"Hey Nagi, I have a question about that." Amu said. Nagihiko looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me in person you were leaving?"

"Well…" Nagihiko looked at the ground, hesitating. "I know this might sound stupid, but frankly, I didn't know how to, besides in writing. You meant a lot to me…" Rima was very shocked to hear this coming out of his mouth.

"You mean like…"

"Yup…" Nagihiko admitted, blushing. "However, that's over now. I don't have romantic feelings for you anymore, obviously." Amu nodded. Tadase smiled. Rima stared at Tadase, sighing. He was very overprotective about his feelings for Amu…

"NAGI-TAN, YOU LIKED AMU-CHI?" Yaya exclaimed, jogging over. "WHOA!"

"Look, does this need to be our topic of conversation?" Nagihiko muttered, evidently embarrassed.

"Hello Yaya!" Amu smiled at her. "Class sure ended early, didn't it?"

"Well, it's the last day before break, so it always ends early!" Yaya grinned, and hugged Rima tightly. Rima sighed, wanting to be left alone. She was currently not in the greatest mood.

"We should all get changed out of our formal attire." Tadase pointed out. "We'll meet in the Royal Garden." Everyone nodded, as Yaya and Kukai jogged to the Royal Garden. Rima began following Amu to the girl's bathroom.

"Hey Rima-Chan, can I talk to you for a second?" Nagihiko asked, stopping her. Rima turned.

"Yeah, sure." Rima agreed, following him to a spot in the woods near the school. Once they were far away, Nagihiko looked at Rima.

"Who picked our dress and did your make-up?" Nagihiko asked.

"Why do you care?" Rima asked.

"Was it Miki?" He asked.

"Yeah, but again, why do you need to know?" Rima asked accusingly. "It doesn't benefit anything for you knowing or not."

"I was just curious, since it looks nice." Rima glared at him, flustered.

"Is that all you have to say?" Rima asked.

"Nope." Nagihiko tried to grab her hand, but Rima resisted. "Look, I understand why you're upset; you have every reason to be."

"It doesn't matter." Rima muttered, looking away.

"You're right." Nagihiko smiled. "It's okay you didn't have anyone in the audience. Look, don't feel alone, okay? You can always talk to me about anything, or any of the others." Rima glanced at Nagihiko again. He looked like he was about to say something.

"What?" Rima wondered. "Are you done?"

"Rima… My mother wants me to leave for Europe again, to practice for another year dancing." Rima gawked.

"W-What?" Rima exclaimed. "You can't do that!" Rima was suddenly upset. "Nagi…"

"Relax Rima-Chan; I'm not leaving." Nagihiko looked at the ground. "I've never said no to my mother before… She was astonished when I told her I told her I didn't want to leave. I don't know what's going to happen, but I can promise I won't go to Europe." Rima uttered a small smile.

"I'm sure it will be fine. Maybe your mother can finally understand you don't want to leave." Rima tried to reassure. She had never seen this happen. It was always Nagihiko who comforted her, and Nagihiko had no problems. Rima had no idea how to reassure anyone, let alone Nagihiko.

"Yeah…" Nagihiko smiled. "We should get changed before the others think we ditched them."

"That's probably a good idea." Rima agreed. Before standing up, they kissed. It was the first kiss they shared that they both expected it. They let go after a minute. Nagihiko smiled at her, and left to the men's restroom. Rima went into the women's restroom, and changed into the school uniform.

"Rima." Kusu-Kusu whispered. Rima looked at her. "It was so much fun being a guardian with you! I can't wait for more adventures outside of being the guardians!" Rima smiled at her.

"Yeah, same…" Rima muttered. "But, what type of adventures do you mean?"

"Well, I can't tell the future!" Kusu-Kusu moaned. "Let's go to the Royal Garden now!" Rima and Kusu-Kusu made their way to the Royal Garden. Before walking in, Rima watched everyone else. Yaya was running around the table, grinning. Tadase was smiling at Amu, who looked out the window, reminiscing about something. Kukai and Nagihiko were chatting, Kukai using very large hand gestures. Nagihiko's eyebrow was raised. Rima opened the door to the Royal Garden, interrupting everyone's thoughts and conversations and…running.

"We were wondering what happened to you!" Kukai exclaimed. "We thought you ran away!"

"It took a while to take off the make-up." Rima muttered.

"Come to think of it, Nagi also came a little late, and he doesn't wear make-up or a dress!" Kukai cocked an eyebrow. "Well, he has worn dresses before…" Nagihiko narrowed his eyes.

"Rhythm wanted to show me something." Nagihiko lied. For once, Kukai didn't believe Nagihiko's lie. Kukai studied Nagihiko, specifically staring at his lips. "Kukai, you're creeping me out…"

"Well, since Rima was wearing lipstick, it must have gotten on your mouth….." Kukai muttered.

"Well, I'm not exactly agreeing with your theory, but if I did, wouldn't you think I washed it off while I was changing?" Nagihiko pointed out.

"True…" Kukai admitted.

For the rest of the day, the guardians spent time hanging out and eating dinner. Finally, it was late. Yaya was sobbing uncontrollably, gripping Rima's cape.

"Is your guardian thing done?" A voice asked. Everyone turned, and Amu blushed, seeing Ikuto.

"Y-Yeah…" Amu admitted. Ikuto picked up Amu. Amu waved to everyone, smiling weakly. Tadase watched in jealousy. Ikuto carried Amu away.

"On that note…Yaya let's go!" Kukai grinned, waving to the others.

"I should go too…" Tadase smiled, and left Rima and Nagihiko to themselves. They stayed silent for a minute, but held hands.

"Rima-Chan, are you waiting for someone to pick you up?" Nagihiko asked.

"Yeah, Sanjou-San and Nikaidou said they'd pick me up, since they're coming home." Rima said. "Do you need a ride?"

"If they don't mind." Nagihiko smiled. Finally, the car arrived, and Rima and Nagihiko got inside. "How was the honeymoon?" Nagihiko asked Nikaidou, since Yukari wasn't there.

"It was nice, except that Yukari's sick now." Nikaidou said. "She keeps throwing up…" For the rest of the drive, they were silent. Finally, they arrived at Nagihiko's house. Nikaidou stared at it, amazed.

"Good-bye Nikaidou-San; thanks for the ride." Nagihiko said. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he said softly, "Good night Rima-Chan, I'll see you soon."

"Yeah, see you soon…" Rima whispered.

"I…I love you." Nagihiko whispered shyly, quickly leaving the car. Rima stared at him, in a daze. She couldn't believe he had just said that. Nikaidou started driving back to Rima's house, the home where she was always welcomed. Rima smiled as she got back home, seeing Utau, Kairi, and a sick Yukari.

**Well… It's over. Please review and I would love it if you read some of my other stories!**


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